The Chosen
by chescaannie
Summary: Post the One but doesn't follow along the epilogue and to the heir. (Mainly because I hadn't read the heir when I started it). Following Maxon and America as they prepare to rule the country.
1. Chapter 1

He chose me. He chose _me._ Despite everything that has happened between us, he chose me. I regretted everything that had happened between us in the past few hours, but at the same time, I regretted nothing as it brought us closer together. I wished I told him I loved him sooner, and not just because I'd have this gorgeous ring on my finger for a while now. TV crews were coming to the palace in the morning for the announcement of our engagement, the selected would all be invited along with my family (who would be here in a matter of hours).

I looked at the display on the wall. Maxon's photos were wonderful, they truly captured every one of the selected's personalities. I stroked them all, lingering over Celeste's face. As much as I used to hate her, I would miss her so much. I would miss everyone once they'd left, I'm not sure Kriss would exactly want to go to her love's wedding when he was marrying me! At least Marlee was in the castle, but even that seemed too far away at the moment. But, at least I had Maxon.

"OK, so I'm afraid you're going to need to go through more training with Silvia. You're not exactly a princess." Maxon smiled at me as he spoke.

"I know. I'm up for it. In a weird way I actually enjoyed my private lessons with her. Let's hope she's forgiven me for my project presentation!"

"Well if she hasn't, I'm the King now so I can just order her to." We both chuckled at that before we remembered that that meant that it meant that they were both gone.

"We need to plan their funeral. It needs to be done before our wedding." Maxon whispered. I could almost hear the tears in his eyes at the death of his mother and father. I didn't blame him, I felt nearly the same way and I barely knew them. At least I had been given time to grieve when my father died. There was no time for him to do the same. Instead I leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips and put my thumbs beneath his eyes.

"No, no tears just now. We both need to be strong to show you as the leader you can be. We need to start rebuilding now so that the rebels don't think they can beat us. We are the face of Illèa."

He smiled and held me with his good arm, I could tell he still needed to cry and mourn and I would let him, later, for now he had a kingdom to run.

I left Maxon's room and walked towards the hospital wing. I wanted to check on the other girls. Before I could get up there, Silvia caught up to me. She looked to be much unscathed by the attack, I assumed she must have been one of the first to get into a safe room.

"America, dear. There's so much we need to do."

"Yes, I thought we could start as soon as I've checked on the other girls" I made as if to go but she stopped me before I could.

"There is no time for that now, we need to go over the format for tomorrow morning." She said as she grabbed my arm and led me towards the library.

"So, tomorrow, you will not arrive with Maxon. The King will arrive after you and Kriss are both in your seats." She started.

"Wait, Kriss is actually coming?" I asked shocked.

"Yes, she believes that it is her duty to her country to be there. In fact I am going to get her once I have caught you up to her level" I hated the thought that Kriss knew more than me. As much as she was a lovely girl she just reminded me that I was not Queen, or even Princess, material. In that way, I still felt that she was better than me.

"OK, carry on then, I just wanted to make sure." I decided I was not going to appear bothered by this fact at all, though Silvia probably saw straight through it.

"As I was saying, you and Kriss will be sat next to each other, but with a space between you, and you will both sit until Maxon arrives. Upon his arrival, Maxon will sit between you and hold both of your hands. When he deems it appropriate he will stand holding only the hand of the girl whom he will marry. As per tradition, you will not see the King between now and this point." She paused before she finished by telling me that she would go and get Kriss before explaining what would happen after Maxon has chosen.

All of a sudden, I realised that this meant that I would not see him for over 12 hours and I would have to spend a lot of those hours with Kriss. In fact, so many of the rooms were ruined that we may end up having all of us in the Women's room to sleep. Though that may be fun, I did _not_ want to spend the night with Kriss.

Eventually, Silvia came back with Kriss. She looked so sad, I gave her a little smile but she didn't smile back. I knew that this all had probably broken her heart and I was sorry for her, but it wasn't my fault that this was the way it had turned out. I loved Maxon and he loved me, that was no one's fault and she shouldn't blame me for it, she certainly shouldn't hate me for it. I decided I would be nice and civil, even if she was in love with my fiancé.

"After Maxon has chosen, she will stand and curtsy to her country and then to the other girl before she is collected by her father and escorted out of the room. Maxon will then kiss his bride and the two will leave during applause and will not be seen by anyone but maids until the next evening."

I listened to Silvia go on and on about protocols but kept looking over at Kriss as she watched Silvia intently. I knew what she was going through, I felt the same way yesterday when I thought that Maxon hated me. I wanted us to stay friends but there was nothing I could do right now so I went back to listening to protocol from Silvia. I should probably listen and follow as something told me that if I broke the rules tomorrow, Maxon would be especially angry with me.


	2. Chapter 2

I was right. The selected girls were all in the women's room which was now filled with 24 beds, 6 along each wall. Eight of the girls had gone home after the attack and with Celeste gone and Marlee hiding, that only left twenty four of us. I was surprised that so many had stayed, if I didn't have Maxon, I wasn't convinced I would be able to stay. I couldn't believe how much had happened in the last twenty four hours and I wondered if I was still asleep and this was all just a dream. I went over to a bed by the far window, looking out to the gardens. If I wasn't going to be allowed to go outside, I would at least be able to look. Anyway, If Maxon walked past in the gardens then I wanted to be able to see him.

As I sat on my bed, some of the other girls began to trickle in, ten appeared in this dose, all claiming beds as far away from me as possible as they all glared. Then Kriss walked in, and I knew why they were scowling. Red puffy eyes showed that Kriss had just been crying. She went and sat with the other girls on the bed nearest the door. Ashley was the first to approach her and comfort her, she had always seemed so reserved before, I had clearly done something to annoy them all. I turned away from them and decided that I would be first to sleep that night.

"Shhh" I heard a whisper coming from near me, I couldn't decide who it was but I decided to keep my eyes shut and pretend to sleep. I heard footsteps and quiet giggles quickly getting louder. I felt a dark shadow come over me and I turned, unable to take it anymore. Twenty three girls surrounded my bed, with Kriss at the forefront.

"What?" I yelled, sitting up in bed, staring into each of their sly smiles.

"We just wanted to give you an early engagement present." Kriss told me. "Here's your dress for tomorrow, your only surviving dress from the attack." She said as she flung a cream garment bag on top of me.

Quickly I undid the zip, not even pausing for breath. Inside was the beautiful dress that Lucy and Mary had painstakingly made for me, despite everything else going on. The only problem with the prettiest dress they had ever made was that it was ripped. Ripped to shreds it was, only a little of the cream cloth remained.

It took everything in me not to rip Kriss's head from her neck, but I managed. For Maxon, I managed not to kill my 'competitor'. I decided I would take the high road and, showing no emotion, I walked out of the room and towards the stairs. As I did this, Tuesday hit me hard across the cheek, leaving a red mark and I felt something hit the back of my head, but I wasn't sure so I gave it no more thought. I knew where I needed to goo

When I got to my old room, I burst into tears in a crumpled mess on the floor. I hated Kriss, actually hated her. This was not happening, she had not done this because Maxon loves me. There were clothes strewn all over the floor, all broken and ruined, the sheets had been thrown of the bed, I could see the duvet on the floor but the rest had gone amiss and even that was fairly ruined with mud and blood. I managed to press the bell and prayed that Mary and Lucy would still be awake enough to help me, I really needed them right now.

Within minutes I heard the thundering footsteps of two small women. Mary and Lucy were coming, they burst through the door and saw me as a mess on the floor, still clutching the garment bag.

"Lady America, what happened?" Lucy asked, crouching on the floor next to me.

"Kriss." I barked back and through the garment bag onto the unmade bed. My two maids unzipped the bag and stared in horror at what they saw.

"Get the prince." Mary ordered Lucy and she obeyed, curtsying as she left. "We need to make you a new dress but I don't know if there will be time to make something as intricate as this. Only…" She had to swallow back tears as she gained the strength to continue her sentence "Only Anne could have designed something like this." I thought she might cry, in fact, I thought I might too, but we both managed to cope as we stared at the dress, neither of us sure of what to do.

As I watched Mary, my eyes couldn't focus properly and I could only just make out Maxon's voice as he shouted my name. Before I knew it, I was on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

I awoke to the sight of yellow sunlight. I was in the hospital wing, again. Seriously, why couldn't I keep out of this place?

"Mer?" Maxon's sweet, soothing voice made me smile as he grabbed my hand. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "What the hell happened last night?"

"They ruined my dress. The last one Anne will ever design for me." I whispered and had to blink back tears as they threatened to resurface. Maxon shook his head slowly.

"Not that, I get that. I _saw_ that. Mer, you were bleeding on the back of your head, that's why you passed out."

"What?" I asked, rolling over so I could see him better. As I did I felt a searing pain in the back of my head and had to bite my lip to stop from screaming. Maxon squeezed my hand.

"I was hoping you could enlighten me but, Kriss said you ripped up your dress and told her you would tell me it was her and then attacked her, she said one of the girls hit you with a bit of mirror to stop you from killing her and then you ran out the room."

"No, no, no. That's not what happened, you have to believe me Maxon!" I tried to sit up again and Maxon simply squeezed my hand even harder.

"I do. In fact, I asked all the girls to leave after they said that, I knew they were lying. I knew how much that dress meant to you and you would not ruin it because you wanted to 'lessen Kriss's chances'. I might not be able to cook as well as you, but I'm not that stupid." He chuckled at his last remark. And I smiled up into his eyes.

"What about the choosing ceremony?" I asked.

"I went myself and announced that I would be marrying you and that you had been forced into the hospital last night but assured them that you had already accepted my proposal. That _is_ still true, right? Kriss hasn't scared you off?" He looked slightly worried.

"Maxon, are you sure you aren't an idiot? Of course I still want to marry you, and everything that comes with it." He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, as he pulled away he held my head and stared into my eyes.

"I love you so much America, only you could go through all this and still make jokes and, even more importantly, still want to marry me!"

"I love you too, King Maxon." I smiled as he released my face from his hold.

"I'm afraid I have to leave, being King is an important job you know! I'll be back later for dinner." He kissed me again, lighter this time and then left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I played with the ring that had been inconspicuously been placed on my finger. It sparkled beautifully, even in the dark light of the hospital.

"Ames!" A small voice shouted from the other end of the hospital. I briefly saw Maxon wave as May, Mom, Kenna and Gerad came running to my side.

"Hi guys." I said, still mostly unable to move my head. "What time did you get in?"

"We got to the airport about an hour ago but we've only been in the palace for about twenty minutes. The King said that he wanted to talk to you alone before you saw us." It was strange hearing my mother calling my fiancée 'The King', but something told me I'd just have to get used to it.

May sat herself on the end of my bed and pulled Gerad up next to her. Mom chose the seat next to my bed where Maxon had just been sitting and Kenna sat on my bed on the other side.

"I'm sorry that this is probably not what you were expecting when you were invited to the chosen ceremony." I said, I really did feel bad, it was the sort of time when May would be able to feel like a princess, as I knew she longed to do.

"Dear, it's not your fault. Honestly, we're just happy you're alive and well enough to talk. When the guards told us that the ceremony had been cancelled and that you were in the hospital, I feared the worst. I thought that something may have happened that was caused by the rebel attack. We love you Darling, we're just happy you're safe." My mother said stroking my hair and pushing it from my face. We all talked for a long time, in fact before I knew it, Maxon was back.

When mom noticed him at the bottom of the hospital she quickly stood and encouraged Kenna, Gerad and May to do the same. As Maxon approached, he shook his head and laughed at my family.

"Sit, please. I am not the king with you, you are America's family, and we will soon be joined. Please stop all this formality." He sat on a chair that he pulled next to my bed on Kenna's side.

"When do I get to move?" I asked Maxon. I hadn't seen Dr Ashlar all day, and I was feeling much better now, anyway.

"Dr Ashlar wants to keep you in tonight and then, if all is well, you can leave in the morning." Maxon said, patting my hand. I groaned at the thought, I hated being fawned over in hospital.

"Please, order him to let me go." He shook his head, smiling. "What if I promise to be really good and come back every morning and every evening?"

"It's only one night, it won't kill you." I rolled onto my back. I hated lying in bed. "Could I have a few moments alone with America?" Maxon asked my family. "Dinner is being served in the dining room in a few minutes, please go and enjoy. You must be hungry." Gerad nodded and the four of them left to enjoy the food. I knew for a fact that they would love it just as much as I did.

Finally, Maxon and I were alone. He looked into my eyes and leaned in and kissed me passionately. I put my hands behind his neck and pulled him closer into me. Eventually, Maxon pulled away but put his head on my pillow, next to mine.

"So what happened last night?" He asked

"Um, I woke up, Kriss threw my torn dress at me as they all had me surrounded. Devastated, I left the room, Tuesday hit me and someone threw something at me. I ran to my room, called my maids, you came and then I woke up in the hospital." He was stunned into silence. I knew he had liked Kriss and I was fairly sure he didn't think she would ever do that.

"Clearly Kriss had a side to her that was so dark she never showed it until she wanted to punish you for winning." He paused and looked at me. "Why did I ever think she could be better for me than you?" I shook my head.

"Why did I ever consider giving up and leaving?" He kissed me again.

Finally, the food came, tonight it was beef stew. I smiled at one of my favourite dishes.

"You know, we used to eat this fairly regularly at the Singer household, obviously not as fancy but still…it reminds me of that time." Maxon smiled as if he knew all along, which he probably did. We talked all through dinner and until about ten at night when he decided he had to let me rest.

"Please, stay." I begged, but he wouldn't and kissed me as he left for the night. "Goodnight King Maxon." I called.

"Goodnight my Dear." He laughed as he said that, knowing I would be scowling at him. I settled down for the night, remembering the promise that I could leave in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning I was allowed out at about nine, just in time for breakfast! I walked slowly down the stairs towards the dining room, I was still in my blue nightgown and robe and my hair was a mess, but I was too excited to care.

I knocked loudly on the heavy doors and waited a moment before a loud voice granted me access. I pushed the door open and curtsied as I stepped inside. Maxon stopped eating upon spotting me, he stood and walked towards me. He tried to walk at first but ended up running the last few yards and picked me up by the waist and bringing me close into him. He kissed me hard on the lips, I'm not sure he would have ever pulled away, but all of a sudden he remembered that my family was sitting about ten yards. We turned to look as my family stared at us, I blushed slightly as Maxon grabbed my hand and led me towards the table.

Almost as soon as I sat down, a butler came with a plate of breakfast for me. Two pancakes, two sausages and a scrambled egg. Delicious. I ate most of the food on my plate whilst my ex-five family quickly polished every bit of food on their plates. It was strange having my family in the palace, I had been without them for so long! Soon they would be moving to the house at the other side of the palace estate, they would be able to come and see us fairly often and us them.

As soon as breakfast was finished, I realised that I needed a real dress to wear, I couldn't go around all day in a nightgown! I went back up to my old room to search through the wreckage. It was mostly tidied now and most of the clothes had been removed from the wardrobe. I searched through and managed to find the jeans that Maxon gave me on my first week, I also managed to scrape together a shirt that I had brought from home. I decided that would do for the day, I was sure that my maids would have a dress made for me for tomorrow.

I sat back on my bed after getting dressed, so much had changed since I had come here, I came in love with Aspen and now I am in love with the one man I never wanted to love. I honestly thought that I would be sent home almost as soon as I walked through the doors, I was lucky that I had been forgiven for me yelling at Maxon…several times. I heard a knock on the door and Maxon entered before I could even tell him to come in.

"This brings back old memories" Maxon said as he sat beside me on the bed. I looked up at his smiling face and smiled back. "What's wrong" he asked, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Nothing's ever going to go back to normal, is it?"

"We'll make a new normal, just for us." Maxon pulled me in and kissed me. "Come on, I need to show you something." He pulled my hand softly from the room and towards the Princess suite.

When we arrived, the room was amazing. It was perfect. Mary and Lucy were already there, quickly standing from their card game as we entered, and there was an open wardrobe with two dresses already inside. The wall was light blue, my favourite colour, and the carpet was a plush white.

"OK so in between king duties, checking on me in the hospital, putting the palace back to pretty much its former glory, you've found time to do up the Princess suite?" Maxon nodded at me, a huge grin showing on his face. I shook my head and flung my arms around his neck. "I love it." I whispered into his ear and kissed him hard on the lips, and we held each other in an embrace for a long time.

At some point my maids must have dismissed themselves because, as we finally let go, there was only May stood in the doorway, a cheeky grin on her face.

"So, is this my room?" She asked. I laughed at that as she smiled even more.

"No, you guys are going to live at the big townhouse that you came past on your way in." I told her.

"Seriously? My sister is going to be the Queen and I don't even get to live in the palace, I'm practically a princess!" She complained. I wasn't sure at this point if she was being serious or not.

"You can come to visit all the time but you will find I boring because I won't have time to play with you and your lovely new house has an art studio so you can still make your art!" I smiled and gave her a little push. She marched off in a half-fake tantrum and we followed her back downstairs.

"So we'll hear from you tomorrow?" My mother asked with a look of worry in her eye. Honestly you'd think I hadn't spent the past few months living away from her!

"Yes, and if you need us for any reason call this number to put you through to the palace." I said placing a piece of paper into her hand. I hugged her and whispered into her ear "If anything happens, go downstairs to the basement and go behind the painting. It's a safe room, there's a phone in there that you can use to call us on."

I waved goodbye to my family as they left to start their new lives as ones. I was so happy for them. It wasn't until Maxon wrapped his arm around my waist and led me back inside that I realised my life had changed a lot too and, starting tomorrow I was going to see just how much had changed!


	5. Chapter 5

I was half way through a lesson with Silvia when the alarm sounded. We both sprinted for the secret chamber located behind the wardrobe in my room without a word. I prayed that Maxon would already be down there, I couldn't bear it if he was hurt in another attack, just when he had gotten over most of his injuries from the first.

The royal safe room was eerily quiet as Silvia and I were the first down and I was used to a few other girls occupying the beds at the back, now there were only the thrones. It was strange to think that there weren't countless girls in this space anymore, just Maxon, the staff and I.

I decided to use my time wisely and has Silvia finish the lesson, I decided it would also take my mind off of Maxon's location, especially when I noticed guards going off to look for him. She carried on her lecture about manners for visitors, how to decide which bedrooms to use, where they should be greeted, what food should be available, who should look after them. It was the sort of lecture that I would normally half drift off from. But on the one hand, I actually needed to know all of this stuff and the second my thoughts drifted, it was to Maxon. Silvia's lecture lasted twenty minutes, and Maxon still wasn't here. Something had almost definitely happened.

It was ten minutes later when Maxon came down the stairs on the other side. When he spotted me stood in the middle of the room, as I had no idea what I should be doing, he ran towards me and held me close.

"I worried you had been taken." Maxon whispered into my ear.

"Me?" I chuckled, "You're the one that's last down here, what took you so long, I was worried?"

"It's all done, they're gone." He smiled. "We were up on the fourth floor when the alarm sounded, there wasn't enough time to get down here so we had to sit it out in one of the safe rooms upstairs."

"At least you're safe." I breathed and kissed him hard on the lips, his arms supporting my back and pulling me closer. "Ok, back up we go."

He held my hand as we turned to go back up the staircase. There wasn't anything different upstairs but I was never sure if that was because the maids worked quickly or if it was because not much had gone on in the last half an hour. In any case, I decided to go to my study to go over my work and make some preparations for tonight's Report.

Tonight we would be announcing our engagement, third time lucky I suppose, so I had to prepare a short speech, dress and mentally prepare for it all. I noticed a letter on my desk but put it to one side whilst I did other work.


	6. Chapter 6

**MAXON'S POV!**

Where is she? It was five minutes before the report was set to start and America had still not made her way down. I started pacing as I awaited Mary's return.

"I can't find her and no one's seen her anywhere!" Mary had a clear look of worry and she was out of breath, clearly she had ran the entire palace looking for her.

"Where could she be?" I asked, collapsing back into my chair and putting my head in my hands. I really needed America right now, not just for our engagement announcement but also for the announcement of my parent's funeral. Her support would have meant a lot. The fact that she knew this as well, makes me think that something serious has happened to her.

"Sir, I'm afraid we need to start, with or without Lady America." One of my advisors told me.

"Ok." I said, bringing my head back from my hands. "But after, we search."

The _Report_ went well, I made a brief announcement about our engagement but saying more would be said next week. I announced the date of my parent's funeral, next Thursday, which would be televised and then passed over to the royal advisors. I pretended to listen to them but my thoughts went straight to America. Where is she? I was really worried about her now.

After the _Report_ , I went straight up to her study, the last place I saw her. It looked normal, untouched with a pen and a ream of plain paper on the desk. The room looked like no one had been in, but Silvia assured me she had been in here. I was just about to leave when I noticed a piece of paper on the floor, I picked it up and quickly read it.

 _Dear Lady America,_

 _We don't have to call you Queen yet, and hopefully we never will. So, just to warn you, you will be gone from the palace within an hour._

It wasn't signed by anyone, but that was why she was gone. Essentially, she had been kidnapped and it was up to us to find her.

I ran down to the guards' station, all of whom stood as I entered but I waved them away, there was no time for such formality.

"She's been taken, probably by the rebels, we have to find her." I threw the letter on the table.

"It's only been a couple of hours, there could still be a trail." One of the guards told me.

"Ok, let's go find her." I headed towards the stairs back up to the entrance. I wanted to find her but I had no idea where to start.


	7. Chapter 7

**I apologise for the last two chapters which were REALLY short, but this one is a bit longer and there is a bit more going on. I had loads of ideas for this chapter so I've tried to use them all so it may be quite long. Please Review!**

 **MAXON'S POV!**

There were no signs in the palace as to where she might have been taken. It had been twenty-four hours since she had gone and there was still no sign. I sat out in the garden, alone, I didn't know what to do with myself. I had lost everyone in my world in the last week. First my parents and now the love of my life. I put my head in my hands, unable to contain the fear and upset at the recent events. I was so tired but I couldn't sleep.

"Your majesty." One of the guards was approaching, I sat up quickly.

"Any sign?" I prayed silently but he shook his head.

"You must sleep, sir. We can search more tomorrow, there is nothing we can do in the night. We will find her sir. But we need rest and light."

I moved towards the door and trudged up to my room, I knew I wouldn't sleep so I went to my study and decided to do some work. There were two pictures on my desk, the first was a picture of my parents and myself from a Christmas a long time ago, we all look so happy in it. I had just gotten my first camera so I was taking pictures, not even stopping for the photo being taken of me. Even my father looks happy in it. The second was the pho of America and I from the early days of the Selection, a portrait taken from a magazine, it seemed so long ago, she didn't love me back then, and we were simply friends. I needed the happiness from all of these pictures. What was I going to do if I couldn't bring her back or if something awful had happened to her?

I looked at the paperwork I had to do, I might as well do it since I would not be able to sleep when I was this worried and upset. One thing that my father has taught me is that when you feel upset and like you can't go on, you push and work and think of nothing but work. So that's what I did, I worked all through the night until it was breakfast time. Then I knew I could resume my search.

None of the guards had seen anyone leave or enter the palace since the rebel attack. This scared me more than anything as it meant that it was most likely that the rebels had my Darling America. But the thing that threw me was that no one had left, where was she? I sat, confused as ever for an hour until I realised how stupid I'd been.

"She's in the palace!" I shouted at the nearest guard who gave me a confused look. "No one at all has left so she must still be here, hidden away somewhere. We need to find her before they move her. No one can leave the palace without my written consent." The guard saluted, bowed then went off to deliver this message to the Gate Guards. I left to speak to the head guards about secret passages, of course I knew where they all were, but they were the only ones that I could talk and discuss these ideas to.

"Enter." I knocked on the head guard's door and let myself in. "Your Majesty, what can I help you with?" He asked, standing and bowing.

"I believe that Lady America is still in the palace as no one has entered or left since the rebel attack. I also have reason to believe that rebels have managed to hide in order to kidnap her." I explained to Officer Cunningham.

"Yes, that makes sense. Any ideas to where she might be in the palace?" I shook my head.

"I suspect she is in one of the secret chambers but I don't know where. That's where you come in. We need to figure out which one she is in." I flashed him a smile, he nodded and got a blueprint of the palace out of a drawer. We immediately sat, discussing certain places.

We decided that the secret 'Book Nook' (as I called it) was unlikely as there was a chance we may go up there for a book and discover what was going on. The woods were unlikely as the weather was poor at the moment and there would be no shelter for the rebels, plus, we would be able to hear shouts. Few places in the palace were thoroughly sound proof, so it narrowed it down substantially. The only places that no one could hear anything were the safe rooms and we were fairly sure that they would only use one safe room.

We both ran in realisation when we finished our discussion, we had to get to the royal safe room as fast as possible.

"No, you have to let me see him!" It was Kriss, I didn't have time so I just kept running, praying she wouldn't see me. "Maxon!" She shouted. She had spotted me and began to chase me. "Maxon, please, I need to talk to you…it's about America." I stopped dead.

"What about America?" I looked at her.

"I thought that would grab your attention. You know, I've known since day one you'd end up with her. I mean yes I do love you and I know you love me but-"

"Get to the point Kriss. I'm trying to save the life of my fiancé here!" I shouted. She bit her lip.

"The rebels want America…they have barricaded the door…and they won't let her out unless you allow them to run the country." She paused. "I know you love her and you want to save her, but they will ruin this country. We will find another way to get her out. But you can't give them control."

"OK." I paused, contemplating the next best move. "I am going to go and talk to them. Get a watch so that they don't leave. And don't worry Kriss, they will not take control or America." I stared into her eyes and walked off.

I had to get down to the safe room. That's where she was and so I needed to be there too. Even if I couldn't get her out right now, I could give her the hope she needed to survive.

"America!" I yelled banging on the door. I heard no reply, which could be because it was sound proof or because she has already been so hurt by them that she can no longer shout back. I hoped for the former because I was scared by the latter. I tried for about ten minutes, each with no reply. I decided to talk to Kriss some more, find out what she knew about America's position and what we could do. Before I left, I told Cunningham to station someone at each entrance and headed back upstairs.

"Kriss." I shouted, I could just see her dark hair from a few steps before the top. "Kriss, there was no answer." I was close to tears now and I could see in her face that she could see it. "What am I going to do?"

"Don't worry, we'll save her. I promise." She pulled me in and hugged me. I was glad, I needed her comfort right now.


	8. Chapter 8

DddIt had been two days since America had been taken, Kriss and I sat in my study trying to figure out what to do next. All we knew was that we had to save her but we had no idea how to do that.

"We give them what they want!" I said decisively

"No! You can't let them have control. This country won't survive without you!"

"Well I can't survive much longer without her!" I yelled back. I fell back to my chair and put my head in my hands. "I haven't slept since she disappeared, Kriss. I don't know how much longer I can cope. I know where she is, why can't we just go and get her?"

"Because if you go down there, all guns blazing, they'll kill her." Kriss patted my hands.

"How do you know all this?" I looked up as she looked away. "Kriss?"

"Maxon. I should have told you this a long time ago." She paused and I was fairly sure I knew what was coming. "I'm a northern rebel. I entered the selection to infiltrate the palace, but then I fell in..."

"No!" I shouted into her face. "Don't say that. I'm marrying America. I love America." I paused "And you're in the group that stole her from me." I was angry now. I had had feelings for Kriss but the only reason she ever came was because she wanted to kill my family. I stood and left the room, unable to look at her.

I walked down the corridor to my room, planning to sit on my bed, maybe try to nap. I pushed open the door to find my room wasn't empty, someone was lying on my bed.

I heard her tears and I knew that it was her. She was stark naked and covered in yellow bruises. I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her. She didn't even look round, she must have known it was me as she clutched at my arms, not wanting to let me go. And I wasn't planning on letting her go again.

I gently placed a blanket around her to keep her warm.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked her softly. She rolled over to look at me.

"Better now you're here.." She whispered. "I need to tell you something but can you come back at dinner and we'll eat in here?" I nodded at her and left. I stationed a guard outside the door and left to talk to Kriss again.

"She's safe." I said walking past her. I almost heard her expression change.

"W-what? When, how did-"

"I don't know and I'm not asking until she's ready to tell me. I think you need to tell me everything about the rebels and what they might have done to her." I grabbed her by the arm and pushed her into the nearest room which turned out to be a spare bedroom.

"I _was_ Northern." She emphasised "The Southerners told me what was happening because they thought I would help them in order to get you." I looked at her, tears in her eyes. " but I would never do that because all I want is for you to be happy." She was nearly sobbing now. I had no idea what to do so I put my arm around her shoulder and patted her softly.

"There something I need to know, Kriss." She looked at me and nodded to tell me to continue. " What happened the night before the choosing?"

"OK, it wasn't really my fault. It was mainly Tuesday and Bariel who had decided that I America had wronged you. Then I went a little crazy because they convinced me that you would not be happy with her and that she would ruin your life." She paused to catch her breath "I can see now that that definitely is not the case. So I am so so sorry. I almost sent a letter to America but I didn't think she'd want to hear from me."

"I'm having dinner with her later, if you want you could go and see if you could speak to her and tell me what you just told me sometime before then. It might cheer her up. I have work to do but I might see you later after you have apologised." I smiled at her and then left the room, heading towards my study.

Before I knew it it was six and time for dinner with America, I had told the staff that I would be eating with Lady America in my room. I had a quick look in the mirror and gave my hair a quick comb with my fingers, smartened my shirt and then walked off to my room where I prayed America would be waiting.

I couldn't see her straight away but it only took me a couple of seconds to spot her red hair out on the balcony, she was wearing a green robe over her nightgown. I knocked on the open glass door and she nodded her head, slightly sadly. I went and sat next to her on the bench.

"I missed you, a lot." She told me as she put her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you, too" I told her as I wrapped both of my arms around her gently.

"They didn't get anything out of me." She whispered. " in fact I'm fairly sure the reason I'm back is because they just gave up with me. They tried everything but they couldn't get anything out of me and I started to attack them. One man tried to rape me." She Winced at the pain of the word and the memory. "But they didn't. They couldn't get near me,you should know that I pack a mean punch!" We both chuckled at the memory of her knee hitting me in the groin after a misunderstanding.

"I'm proud of you. But, in all honesty, I'm just glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back." I couldn't take it any longer and kissed her. Softly at first but when she put her arms around me I knew that was the green light so I supported her back and laid on top of her on the bench.

We laid there until there was a knock at the door, we sat up as a maid came in with our food, placing it on our table and smiling. We both tucked into the delicious food that was sat in front of us. We both sat back as we had cleared our plates.

"I want to move up the wedding." America said finally. I paused.

"To when?"

"Next month, the second Saturday in February."

"Sooner the better." I said, winking. "I mean, except my obvious sexual magnetism, any particular reason?"

"My parents' wedding anniversary is the Thursday before. And being away from you made me realise how much I want to really be yours" she looked at me and I smiled back at her. I kissed her gently and stood, I gave her my hand and helped her up.

"Come on, bed. It's been a busy few days for both of us." I led her to our bed in my suite, helping her out of her robe and into bed. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and change into my pyjama bottoms. I went back to bed and got into the sheets. I put my arms around her stomach and pulled her close to me.

"Never leave me." She whispered.

"I'll always be with you. I promise.


	9. Chapter 9

**OK, FIRST OF ALL I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG, MY COMPUTER BROKE, THEN I WAS AWAY. BUT ANYWAY, HERE'S THE LATEST CHAPTER. ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I awoke in Maxon's arms once more. It felt comfortable, right. I moved closer into him and he stirred slightly, I felt bad for waking him but I wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Morning, my dear." He said softly. I smiled, though I hated being called that, I was just glad to be able to hear him.

"Morning your highness." I answered him and he kissed me.

"As much as I want to spend all day with you, I have so much to do." He moaned

"Anything I can do?"

"Just stay safe." He looked me right in the eye and I could see the worry in his face.

"Please Maxon, I want to do something to help. I need to do something." I could see that there was something but he wasn't sure if he was prepared to ask for it.

"There's one thing I just can't do, it would help a lot if you could have a look at it." He paused. "Could you plan my parents' funeral?" I could see he was close to tears so I simply nodded my head and kissed him.

We both decided it was time to get up now so I wandered through to my suite where Mary and Lucy were waiting for me, smiling by the door. I noticed another girl stood by the door to the corridor, clearly a decision had been made of who my other maid would be. I missed Anne a lot but I knew that Mary and Lucy had both been a bit overworked recently.

"Name?" I shouted at the girl and pointed at her.

"Uh, Amy, your majesty" The girl looked terrified as she sunk into a low curtsy.

"Ok, Amy. You're part of this family now so get over here for a hug." I opened my arms as Lucy and Mary ran for me. Amy looked unsure so I gave her a smile and she joined. "I'm not your majesty with you, Amy. Just like I was never really Lady to these two. I am just America."

I let my maids dress me in a simple day dress with a long skirt and full sleeves to hide my bruises and then went through to my study to start the planning.

Before I knew it, it was lunch and there was a familiar shadow standing in my doorway.

"What do you reckon, egg mayonnaise, tomato, or beef sandwiches?" I asked.

"Egg was my mother's favourite and beef was my father's." Maxon told me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"Tomato was Celeste's." I whispered. "I want to do more than just remember your parents, we need to remember everyone who died in the attack. I thought it might just rally the people behind us against the rebels. Though your parents would have the service, I thought we could use the time to unveil a memorial to them all outside the palace."

"I love that idea. But who's going to make it?"

"May. Kota might help if he can be bothered to move but...May's already started work."

"That sounds great." He leaned down and kissed me. "Come on, there's someone who wants to have lunch with the King and future Queen of Illéa." Maxon grabbed my hand and pulled me gently towards the foyer. He didn't let me go until we got there.

"Aspen!" I shouted running towards him and flinging my arms around his shoulders. I was glad he was sat on a bench or I might have knocked him over. He hugged me back briefly but stopped as he noticed Maxon. I removed myself from him and moved towards Maxon to remind him that I was his and there was no need to be jealous.

"How are you, Aspen?" I asked.

"I'm OK, my leg hurts quite a bit but, other than that." His eyes moved from me and he smiled. I didn't understand why until I turned and spotted Lucy coming over.

"How about you two go off and have some food, I'll have some sent to the conservatory, and we can meet for our meeting at half one?" Maxon smiled as he told him and Aspen simply nodded back. As they left, Lucy turned and smiled at me, waving before putting her hand in Aspen's and the pair of them walked off in the direction of the conservatory.

"So where shall we go for lunch?" I turned to look him in the eye but he answered me by leading me off to the gardens.

We ended up at the bench that we first met at all those months ago.

"Hard to believe that we only met a few months ago, isn't it?" Maxon sat down on the bench and led my hand so that I would sit next to him, he put one arm around my shoulder and pulled me close next to him so that I was leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Why didn't I tell you I loved you from the moment I knew?" I asked, I still didn't know why I hadn't been able to tell him that before last week. "I released I loved you that moment on the roof."

"I knew I'd choose you from the moment you yelled at me." he whispered softly in my ear and then kissed me.

"So, for our wedding." I paused to make sure I hadn't lost him yet. "I was thinking we could have the reception outside and have a buffet dinner so that the maids and guards can sit with us and have the day off."

"As long as we still have some guards to make sure no rebels attack, then I think that that's a great idea." He looked into my eyes and kissed me again, forcing me down onto the bench so that he was above me. "I love you, America."

"I love you, your highness." We stayed there for several moments before I had to push im off of me and sat up next to him. "Where's the food?" I asked, it was almost as if they'd heard me as a maid came around the corner with a tray of sandwiches. As the tray was put down in front of us, I pondered over which one to eat, making Maxon laugh at me.

"You really do love food, don't you?"

"Only reason I'm here, dear." I said, picking up a jam sandwich and eating it. He laughed again and picked up another sandwich. We managed to get through the tray quite quickly, we then sat for a few minutes before I stood, but Maxon still would not let go of my hand.

"I have to go and do more planning for all these events we have going on. And I know you have things to do as well, my King." I smiled and curtseyed at him. "But I'll meet you for dinner and then I'll spend the whole night with you." I winked at him and then walked back into the palace.

Back in my study, I was working on my menu plans for Thursday when Marlee, Mary, Lucy and Amy came bustling into my room, giggling.

"Wedding dresses!" Marlee shouted, she was holding a tape measure and notebook.

"We need to measure you, my Lady." Amy told me. She still looked quite nervous, I'd soon get that out of her. Lucy and Mary helped me out of my clothes and Marlee attacked me with the tape measure, making notes and shouting numbers to the other girls. Then I got dressed again and we all sat on the floor, surrounded by paper.

"Ok, we need to design your wedding dress, what kind do you want?" Lucy asked me, picking up a pencil and a sheet of paper.

"I always dreamed of long dress with off the shoulder sleeves. And since I can afford a proper dress for my wedding, I think that that would be amazing."

"You would really suit that, America." Marlee smiled and Lucy started making notes. We discussed the dress for a long while, so long that I actually lost track of the time. It wasn't until there was a knock at the door that I actually realised the time, almost seven. Amy ran and opened the door a crack.

"Your majesty." She said sinking into a low curtsey.

"Name?" It was definitely Maxon.

"Amy, Sir."

"May I come in?" Amy looked around and we all shook our heads as we tried to pick up all the designs. "I'm going to take that as a no so I'll just see if you can help me."

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Well, Amy, I was just wondering if my fiancèe was going to keep her promise and join me for dinner."

"I'll be out in a minute." I shouted before Amy could even consider answer. I heard his footsteps walk away and Amy shut the door and helped us clean up. Then I stood, they all made sure I still looked fine and then I walked out of the room. I found Maxon on a sofa just around the corner. his eyes lit up as I approached and he stood to greet me, kissing me lightly on the lips and walked me to the dining room.

After dinner, he walked me back to my room and left me outside the door as he walked to his door. I went inside, washed and changed into my nightdress, ready for bed, it had been a rather long day. So much was going on at the palace and, as the next Queen, there was so much I needed to do. I walked back through from my bathroom to find a note that simply read ' _please come through_ '. I knew exactly who it was and walked through to Maxon's room where he was nowhere to be see. I crawled beneath his sheets, just taking in the smell of him and soon felt the strong arms of the King of Illéa, my fiancèe, around me and making me feel safe.

"Sweet dreams, my dear." Maxon whispered.

"Sweet dreams my future royal husbandness." I whispered back. Soon I felt his breathing even out and my own eyes began to shut as we both fell into a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**ONCE AGAIN, SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT, I JUST FINISHED READING THE HEIR AND NOW I NEED THE NEXT BOOK! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

 **America**

Waking up next to Maxon was the best feeling in the world. It was as if all of my dreams had come true, and yet, just a few months ago I hated him. I barely remembered why now. However, this morning I didn't wake up with my fiancée next to me in his bed. I sat up and looked around the room, I saw his photo collage and his things on his desk, but no Maxon.

I decided to get up, he probably had to get up and go to a meeting and didn't want to wake me. I looked at the clock on his wall, half eight, half an hour before breakfast. I walked through the door to my suite and pressed the button to call my maids, but no one came. After pressing again and no one entering, I decided that I would have to choose what to wear myself.

I looked into the wardrobe, there wasn't much in there as of yet, in fact there was only one day dress. It was pale blue, and came to about mid-calf. I quickly went through to the bathroom to wash and then put it on. I decided to call my maids one last time, and when they still didn't come, I decided to go and search for them myself.

I nodded to the two guards outside the room as I left, but other than that I saw no one in the corridors, not even maids or other guards. Where was everyone? I decided to check the dining room to see if they were all in breakfast, but it was empty. So was the Great Hall.

"Hello?" I shouted to no one in particular, but there was no answer. I walked back up to our suites to ask if the guards had any ideas but when I got there, they had left too. I walked back into my room and looked for any signs of anyone being in here. I walked over to my balcony, I looked over the railing and saw white marquees all over the garden, I looked at them until I saw a blonde man look round and wave, he then tugged on his ear, I returned the gesture and walked back into my room, perfectly composed, before running down the staircase towards the garden.

When I got to the door, I noticed Maxon leaning against the wall, waiting. He had a smirk on his face and was watching me closely. I sunk into a low curtsey.

"Your majesty." I said dramatically, trying not to laugh at the words. I looked up and saw him coming over to me, shaking his head and smiling, I smiled back as he took my hand and led me outside.

Maxon took me into one of the marquees where I saw a camera crew stood at the bottom of a raised platform, I felt Maxon's posture change into that of a King and I stood straighter myself, trying to copy what I thought Queen Amberley would have done. When we climbed the few steps up to the stage the crowd burst into cheers and I smiled, they were cheering for us. Maxon let go of my hand and I stood just behind him as he moved towards the microphone in the middle of the stage.

"My country," Maxon's voice filled the tent and he gave a sweeping glance over everyone there, before looking straight into one of the cameras. "I present today my future wife and future Queen of Illèa. Lady America Singer!" The crowd cheered and Maxon turned towards me, moving his head slightly to beckon me towards him. He moved to the side and let me stand at the microphone to address my country. I was so not prepared for this.

"Illèa." The cheers stopped as people began to listen to me. "I would just like to say that, as your Queen, I will strive to be everything you want me to be. I will strive to help make our country as good as it can be for everyone. I hope you'll all accept me as your Queen as well as you've accepted King Maxon." I smiled and stood back from the microphone, allowing Maxon to take his place there.

"Our future Queen." The crowd erupted into cheers again. "Now, enjoy the festivities."

We stayed on the stage as the rest of the crowds filtered out of the tent, towards the rest of the garden. When we were finally alone, Maxon turned to me with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you but I wanted our engagement party to be a surprise. You did wonderfully, especially as you weren't at all prepared."

"Well, a good performer is always ready to perform, even if it isn't singing or playing an instrument. I know how to make something up on the spot." I grabbed his hand. "And it's easy to do when you have a great King, whom the people love, to support you."

"I love you so much, you're going to be a great Queen."

"I know, I think I might be Queen and you can just be one of my servants." I joked as we walked off the stage and out into the glorious Angeles sunshine.

We weren't alone for long as, as soon as we walked out, there were flashes of cameras as photos were taken of us. After they left to photograph the rest of the event, I was met with arms around my waist and hair in my mouth.

"May!" I said, reaching down slightly to hug her back. I soon saw my mother, Gerad, Kenna, James, and little Astra coming towards me. "No Kota? I didn't think he'd miss this publicity." I tried to laugh but it did hurt that he hadn't come.

"Well, he's here but he's talking to the twos about his art and trying to convince them to buy them." My mother told me, she looked slightly angry with him. "I told him that he should be here to congratulate his sister and his King, but clearly he thought that other things were more important."

"Well, if he doesn't want to be here to support his family, then he might not find invitations to state events in his letter box for much longer." Maxon said, his face and voice were stern and I could see that he was just as upset about it as us, even though he had never met Kota.

"It's his loss." I said with a smile. I didn't want him to ruin Maxon and my special day.

"As much as I would love to stay with you all day, I'm afraid we have lots of people to see, but stay after the party and we'll all have dinner together. Even Kota, if he behaves." Maxon told my family, I knew he loved them as his own and he really would rather be with them, but we both knew he was King and there were so many people here that would want to speak to him. The best part of this being our engagement party was that we could be together for the full day, no one wanted us to separate on the first day we'd had when we could actually celebrate us.

I walked next to Maxon as he led me underneath another cover, this one was bustling with people and I spotted Kota in one corner, however I kept my smile in place as we walked over to greet the Mayor of Angeles. He bowed to us as we approached.

"Your highnesses."

"Mayor Littlewood. It's a pleasure." I held out by hand which he took and kissed it lightly.

"Believe me, Lady America, the pleasure is all mine." I smiled and looked at Maxon who was watching me and smiling. "Any ideas for the date of the wedding?"

"February." Maxon answered quickly.

"Not too long from now, is there time to plan it properly?" I laughed slightly, not sure whether to take it as a joke or not.

"The Palace staff are great at doing things quickly and I know that America has already made a lot of plans already. We both feel that after the recent tragedies, the people would appreciate a Royal wedding to cheer them up. They love America, and she will be a great queen. So the sooner the better." The mayor bowed quickly before Maxon pulled me out of the tent and we headed further out into the gardens.

"Maxon, are you Ok?" I held both his wrists and looked up at him.

"I just wish that some people would understand that this country needs a Queen. No one saw how much work my mother did behind the scenes. I think that if people understood just how much she had done herself for this country then they would understand just how much I need you, and how much the people need you."

"Maxon. The people out there know nothing of what happens in this palace, your mother never spoke on the _Report_ and they never hear anything but small updates. They barely understand how much the King does." I paused and looked away from him, letting go of his hands. "Before I came here, I thought you were pretentious and stuck-up. I thought the royal family did nothing. I didn't see the point in the Selection. I didn't understand why we needed a King or a Queen. Then I came here." I turned to look at him, he looked slightly sad. "I saw how much work went on just so that the country could find out the little bit that was going on in the palace on the _Report_. I saw how much work it was to have good relations with other countries, and how hard it is to not insult the German Federation. I met you and I saw how much the Prince had to do just to keep some of the country onside. They don't understand. Not even the Mayor, because no one sees what has gone on behind the scenes to just get up to where we are now. And you can't expect them to unless you show them what you have to do every day." Maxon's face lit up and he kissed me on the lips and held them there for a few moments.

"Come on, let's go celebrate us and the great monarchy that we are starting. Together."


	11. Chapter 11

**MAXON**

Soon after the party ended, we all met in the Dining room, just me and the highly energetic Singer family. I was sat at the head of the table with America to my left, then May and Gerad. Kenna and James sat opposite May and Gerad, with Magda sat at the foot of the table. Kota had been in when we had arrived and had chosen the seat to my right, knowing I would be sat at the head. America gave him an evil glare as she sat down.

There was a certain amount of awkwardness as the entire family seemed to be angry at Kota, not that I really blamed them. When dinner was served, Kota simply tucked in while everyone else waited for us all to be served with food.

"I can't believe you bagged a Prince Mer." He said, his mouth half full. "I mean _you_ a Queen. I'm not sure that'll work." I could feel her mood change as her brother aired what I assumed were her greatest fears. "I mean, don't get me wrong. You're pretty enough to go on the arm of a King, but…" he paused to put more food in his mouth. "Could you really inspire a country and aid in leading it?" He shook his head. "I don't think so, you just aren't Queen Material." I slammed my hands down on the table.

"You will not speak to America like that. The people love her. She will be a great Queen and if you ever, ever speak to her like that again, I can have you incarcerated for treason before you can even say sorry." I could see the fear in his eyes as I shouted at me, he knew what I was capable of. 2Now, go back to your father's house, God knows you don't deserve it, don't come back until you've learned some manners." I stared at him until he quietly stood and walked towards the door. I turned to America but she wasn't in her seat. "Excuse me." I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice, Kota's behaviour wasn't their fault.

I walked calmly to the door but after leaving I began to run. "America?" I shouted in the corridor, but heard no reply. I tried to think of where she would go and it took me longer than it should have to realise that she would be in the gardens. Upon reaching the door, the guard simply nodded as if to tell me that she was out there. Soon I spotted her sat on a bench, not that far from the door, she was just staring into space and I sat next to her. Though she didn't acknowledge me, I knew she knew I was there.

"He's right. How am I supposed to be Queen? I could barely cope with the etiquette needed to be one of the Selected. I broke so many rules…"

"America Singer. You broke the rules because you knew they were wrong. You showed your strength and you showed that you do not fear making the wrong decision. You have proved to everyone that you will be a great Queen. And though you won't be the same as my mother, it is not because you are better or worse. You will be the Queen that takes charge and makes her country great. You will do more than support me, you will help me make the right decisions in any way you can." She looked at me and smiled, but still seemed quite sad. "America, do you think I'm stupid?" I stared at her until she locked eyes with me.

"No…"

"Well then, do you think I'd make the wrong decision when it's as important as choosing my wife and Queen? I know you better than you think I do. I knew from the moment I met you that you were my other half and the future Queen of Illèa. You are perfect for this job America. I don't care what anyone says, not your brother, no one. I love you America and I can think of no one better to be my Queen."

"Stop, you're ruining my make-up." She fake-moaned, wiping under her eyes. She leaned into me and I put my arms around her waist and held her. We stayed there for a long time, completely at peace. Until there was the ear-splitting shriek of the siren sounding. I quickly stood and pulled on America's hand, willing her to move, but she stayed rooted to the spot.

"I am not going back in that safe room Maxon, I won't feel safe I there. It will remind me too much of…" She looked away from me, not wanting to remember the last time she was down there.

"We'll go to one of the small ones upstairs, they're closer anyway. I won't force you down there, but I need to get you safe."


	12. Chapter 12

**AMERICA**

Maxon dragged me through the palace, hitting bits of wall or paintings, trying to find an open safe room. Finally he found one just outside the great hall. He jumped up and pulled me up after him, dragging me further into the room before he shut the door. Then he burst into a fit of tears on the floor.

"What do they want?" he screamed. "They already killed my parents, hurt you, and ruined everything. What next?" Then I realised that this was the first attack since the death of his parents. I didn't know what to say to him to help so I laid down beside him and placed my head on his chest. I had never seen him this upset before. He put his arms around me and we laid there, with only the sound of his sobs.

"I will never let them touch you again." Maxon whispered to me.

"I promise you that we will get rid of them, I promise that each and every one of them will pay for everything they've done. Everyone they've hurt."

"I just don't understand."

"Neither do I, but we will figure it out and we will stop them." I cuddled in closer to Maxon. Soon his sobs seemed to subside and his breathing evened out. I listened to his soothing breathing. I knew that he hadn't slept properly for quite a long time, so I was glad he was finally resting.

I moved away slightly and stood up, looking around the safe room, it was just a small one so there was almost no room for anyone else after the small sink, bench and the two of us. I looked on the shelf above the sink and found a small brown blanket, I took it off the shelf, unfolded it and draped it over my sleeping love. Then I searched through the cupboard for a cup or something, eventually I found a small glass and I filled it with water from the sink. I looked in the dirty little mirror above and looked at myself. I was a mess. Kota was right, a Queen must always be beautiful, and I was a mess if anything bad happened. I wasn't strong or brave like Maxon had said, I was weak. Amberley was a perfect Queen, she was strong and beautiful at all times. I had seen her in the safe room so many times and wondered how she stayed so composed when I couldn't. But here was me, hair messed up from running, make-up more under my eyes than on them. I was no Queen, could I ever be?

I moved over to the little bench and pulled my knees up to me chest, still holding my little glass. I sipped at the water and stared at the wall in front of me. I heard Maxon stirring, and turned around to see him looking at me. I smiled at him, trying to convince both of us that I was happy. And I was, I loved Maxon, I loved the idea of being Queen, I loved the idea of helping the country. I just wasn't sure if I actually could do a good job. Maxon still had red eyes that matched my own.

"God, we're such a mess." I joked, smiling a little.

"I know I'd be a lot more of a mess if I didn't have you. Come here." He opened his arms and I fell into them, he wrapped his arms around me and I let myself fall further into him.

"I love you so much, Maxon."

"I love you too, America." He kissed me softly on the lips and we held tightly on to each other. We stayed like that for a few minutes before the door to the safe room finally opened.

"Your Majesty. Thank goodness we found you." A guard whose name I didn't know bowed to us as he spoke. We both rose and moved towards the opening, Maxon stepped out first and held out his hand to help me down the step.

"Where is my family?" I asked the guards.

"The Singers are in the upstairs parlour." One answered. He pointed up the stairs and then bowed so he could continue unlocking the safe rooms. Maxon held my hand tightly and led me up the stairs, through to the parlour.

It was a beautiful, large room, probably about the same size as the Women's room, but decorated with gold wallpaper and plush white carpet. There was a black piano in one corner, which my mother had instinctively sat at, and red sofas were spread through the room.

"Thank goodness, America." My mother walked quickly towards me and flung her arms around my neck. I removed my hand from Maxon's so that I could hug her back.

"I'm fine, mom. Did you guys get to the safe room Ok?"

"Yes, the guards took us down there." She nodded.

"It was so scary, Ames, especially when we couldn't find you." May had brought herself into the hug as well, she was followed by Gerad. Soon I felt Maxon's strong arms embracing all four of us as my mother, sister and I began to cry.

"I'm sorry, sister." Kota's voice broke us up, my mother and sister stood to my left, Gerad went back to sit with Kenna and James. Maxon held my hand so tightly that I wondered if he was scared I might kill Kota or if he worried he would.

"It's fine, Kota. You see, I know you're wrong. And one day you will see that too. One day you will regret how you've treated this family, how you left us. And since you have not shown that you regret it today, you might as well go back to Carolina as you clearly don't want to be a part of the Singer-Schreave family." I stared at Kota throughout my words and watched him as he moved towards the door. He seemed genuinely hurt by what I said, but I meant it.

After he left I went and sat down on one of the sofas near to Kenna, closely followed by Maxon and May and my mother joined us as well.

"So, any ideas on the Wedding date?" my mother broke the silence.

"Yes, we thought the 10th of February." I answered, my mother almost choked on the tea she'd been drinking.

"You mean three weeks?" She stared at me. I nodded. "Ok, three weeks to plan a wedding. That's hard at the best of times, but teams of people spend at least a year on a royal wedding."

"We just don't want to have to wait any longer than we have to. I want to have my Queen by my side as soon as is humanly possible."

"Oh, I really do understand, I just know how much work it's going to be. Am I still paying for it?" She looked at Maxon and I could see her wanting to laugh, but Maxon just shook his head.

"Don't worry Mrs Singer, I'll cover the costs. You are all welcome to stay in the Palace for the next few days if you want to, from the sounds of things you have a lot of work to do. I'll see you all in the morning." Maxon stood and left the room. I waited a few moments before speaking.

"Maxon doesn't want to say the words but it's the memorial tomorrow, and that was his way of inviting you. Come on, I'll show you to your rooms." After leading my family to their rooms on the same floor as my own suite, I went towards my room. I paused outside the door and then moved over to Maxon's. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Maxon, it's me. I'm coming in." I opened the door to find Maxon lying on his bed, facing the ceiling with his hands on his forehead. He was crying again.

"Max, it's ok, let it all out, I'm here." He moved his arms around me the second I laid next to him.

"Promise you'll never leave my side."

"I swear, hand on my heart, that I will not leave you. Ever." I kissed him on the cheek and then put my head back on his chest so I could feel his heart beating.


	13. Chapter 13

**HEY GUYS, OK, SO I MIGHT HAVE GONE A LITTLE CRAZY WITH THE LENGTH OF THIS ONE BUT, OH WELL, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW, AND ENJOY THE NEW CHAPTER.**

 **AMERICA**

I woke early in the morning. Turned off the alarm by Maxon and crept through to my suite. I went straight through to my bathroom where Mary did my make up and put my hair up into a simple bun, I then went back through to the main room and put on the plain black dress that I'd had made for today, the day of the funeral.

I nodded to my maids as I left and then to the guards as I went down the corridor. I'd made everyone in the palace promise to not let Maxon wake up before I said the word. Today was going to be hard enough for him, I wanted him to sleep for as long as possible.

I went down to the Great Room, praying that no one would be there yet. When I opened the door there was only May, stood beside her sculpture in the centre of the room.

"May, it's perfect." I said, hugging her. She had made a slab of black rock with names inscribed all around one side in gold lettering.

"You think so? I didn't want to do anything too ornate, but…"

"Yes, it's perfect, I think it will look great. We're going to move it outside after the service, is that ok." She just nodded her head. I'm going down to the kitchens now to check on the food, do you wanna come with?" I held out my hand and smiled.

"Sure, your Highness." She dramatically curtsied and took my hand.

"I'm not 'Your Highness' yet, you know. I'm still just Lady America for the next couple of weeks." She giggled as we left the room and headed to the kitchens.

When we entered the room, the staff all stopped what they were doing and bowed or curtsied before returning to their tasks. I nodded back at them and then went down to the table at the end where the head chef sat.

"Good morning, Jade." I greeted, she gave me a small curtsey and we sat down. "So how are preparations coming, everything coming together ok?"

"Yes, Lady America. We are actually slightly ahead of schedule. However, we haven't done any Royal breakfasts this morning. Would you like us to send something up to the King?"

"Well, I'm trying to let him get as much sleep as possible but, could I take some toast and maybe some eggs up to him in about half an hour?" I asked.

"Yes, that should be fine." Jade nodded her head, appearing glad that she could do something.

"Thank you, I'll leave you to get on with the food." I smiled and left the kitchens, May trailing behind me.

"So, what else do we have to do?" May asked, running to catch up with me.

"Not much just yet, no one's due until ten, I need everyone ready by half nine so I need to get Maxon up at eight, so that gives us about half an hour to kill. What do you want to do?" May shrugged her shoulders.

"Show me your favourite places. I don't know the palace half as well as you do."

"Have you been through the gardens, properly, yet?" she thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"Well, come on then." I grabbed her wrist and ran in the opposite direction towards the doors, smiling at the guards as we sped past them.

"The sun's so hot here!" May complained after we'd been out for about twenty minutes.

"You'll get used to it May, after a couple of months you'll stop noticing."

" _Months_? I have to boil under this sun for months before I'll get a bit used to it. It's only January! What's it going to be like in the height of summer?"

"The bad thing is, May, I really don't know." I laughed. "Tell you what, we'll figure it out together." I looked up and that's when I spotted him. A flash of blonde hair coming from one of the balconies. "Excuse me, May, I'm going to have to go. Feel free to wander for a bit longer, if you want." Then I had to run off. I went down to the kitchens to retrieve Maxon's food and then sped upstairs. I nodded to the guards again as I passed and they pushed open the door to Maxon's room.

"Eat." I said, putting the plate in front of him as he sat at his desk, trying to do work.

"I need to-"

"No. You need to eat. You don't need to do any work today."

"Please, America. I need something to take my mind off it."

"No." I crouched down and grabbed one of his hands "Maxon, you can't just shut yourself in here. I need you, and I know you need me too." I paused. "Come on, eat your breakfast and then we'll get you ready."

"Honestly, what would I do without you?" He began to eat the toast, I sighed in relief. "Do you want some?" I shook my head. "Come on, you have to eat as well."

"No, honestly I'm really not-" I had to stop as he put a piece of toast in my mouth. "Fine. We'll share it." I went and sat on the bed, followed by Maxon who was carrying the plate of food. I let him eat most of the food but I took the odd bit so that he would see that I was eating.

When we were done, I left him to get dressed and went back through to my room so that Mary could touch up my make-up and make sure my hair was still ok. Before I knew it, there was a knock at the door and Maxon walked in.

"Come on, we've got to keep up with your schedule and it's almost half nine." He gave me his arm which I liked around my own and we walked in silence towards the main entrance.

"We just need to go over the seating for the service in the Great Hall, your highness. So we'll have the royal family in the front row, then we'll have the visiting royals in the next row, then the mayors of all 35 provinces will probably take up the next two rows, then we'll have the Singers and then, finally, some members of staff who have been invited, mainly the personal servants of King Clarkson and Queen Amberley. Is all this ok?" Silvia explained to Maxon and myself.

"I don't mind as long as I have America beside me in the front." Maxon smiled at me slightly.

"Well, actually, etiquette says that only the relatives of the deceased and their spouses sit in front, I'm afraid that to the rest of the world, America is still a five."

"She will be my wife in less than a month, and I need her there next to me. I don't care what etiquette says. America is pretty much Queen, now. She will be sitting in front with me." Silvia just nodded, curtseyed and left.

"I'm sorry, but that's why we need to get married sooner rather than later. So that you can be presented as my wife and Queen. So that I can be with you when I need you." Maxon squeezed my hand and I put my head on his shoulder. In a few moments, the mourners would be coming through, wanting to greet Maxon and we'd have to be royalty again.

My family came down the stairs, making their way to the great room to take their seats, I waved at them slightly and they nodded back to say Good Morning but we couldn't chat or speak properly as people began to arrive through the doors. First was Adele and her children (who were surprisingly calm today) who all bowed or curtseyed to Maxon before walking through to the Great Room. After the last few guests trickled in, we walked slowly through as well.

The ceremony was beautiful, most people from the first couple of rows stood to give eulogies to both the King and the Queen, but only Maxon and Adele talked about them as people. I had considered doing a speech but I'd barely spoken to the Queen really and it would be hard to say something nice about the king, considering our relationship. Instead, I had helped Maxon with his speech, getting him to talk about them as his parents and the good times they had together when he was a child.

"I remember one Christmas, probably one of the first that I remember, I was about five and all I had wanted was a day with my family. As Prince, I had never really wanted anything, but I had barely seen my parents for the past couple of months as they tried to establish links with Swendway. But I remember that my mother promised me that we'd spend the whole week together as a family, not as royals but just mum, dad and me.

"I remember that I'd given my parents pictures I'd drawn and they both loved them. They were silly things, stick figure versions of all of us holding hands and smiling happily. They both cherished those pictures, in fact I think I saw one in my father's desk drawer just a few weeks ago. That day was one of my favourite memories with my parents because we just spent all day together, we spent the whole day in pyjamas and we had minimal staff, we even tried making Christmas dinner ourselves. Though that wasn't the nicest food I've ever had at the palace, it was at the same time, because it had come from the love of our family.

"I can't believe that they're gone. At nineteen I shouldn't have lost my parents. None of this should have happened, not to them. They were good monarchs, good parents, good people. They were taken too soon and in the wrong way. They should have died in their sleep in a few decades time, not now, not like this.

"I loved my parents, I can't believe they're gone. But I love that you all took the time to come and pay your respects to them, I thank you all for that and I thank you for listening." Maxon stepped down from the podium and returned to his seat next to me, I squeezed his hand in encouragement. Then I stood to speak.

"I can't really talk about the King and Queen because I barely knew them, so instead I would like to present the memorial of the King, Queen and everyone else who was killed in the attack. I had several friends who were taken too young at the same time as the King and Queen, none of them deserved to die and I would like to dedicate this to everyone who died or lost someone in the attack. It's a sad time for all of us and we need to remember everyone who died alongside them. I thank you all for your support to King Maxon, myself and everyone else who needs it." I stepped down from the podium and returned to Maxon. The priest stood and said a few words to end the ceremony and then we left the Great room, heading towards a large room nearby.

There was a buffet table at one end of the room, laid out with sandwiches, and other picnic foods. Maxon and I stood by the door and watched everyone talk quietly and nibble on the food, no one came to speak to us except the odd person who just patted his arm or said 'I'm sorry' as if it was their fault.

"Just get through an hour or so, then we can make our exit." I whispered to him, I knew he didn't want to be here, he needed private time to grieve, something which it was hard to get as King, everyone always seemed to want something or expect something more. No one seemed to see him as a person, just as a King. Maxon nodded and walked me towards Adele, whom he quickly hugged.

"Hi Adele, we're so glad you could come." I greeted her with a small smile. She nodded at me and returned Maxon's hug. All of a sudden I didn't feel as welcome at this family affair, so I went off in search of my mother. Instead I was met with the brown hair and eyes of someone else, Kriss.

"America." She greeted me, embracing me tightly.

"Hi, Kriss." After a couple of seconds I was released from the hug.

"I'm so, so sorry. I was going to write, honestly, I was. I just never got round to it, then all that stuff happened and you were taken." I whipped my head around to her.

"How did you know about that?"

"I was…here. I helped Maxon out when he was going a bit crazy."

"Why were you here Kriss?"

"I knew, I was told by the rebels that they'd taken you. They wanted me to lead their campaign against you. But I didn't! I swear, I came straight here to help Maxon get you out."

"Ok. Hey, can we talk about this some other time, like oh, I don't know, you can come to my Wedding and tell me all about how you tried to break me by ruining my clothes, giving me a concussion and then you decided to take the time to spend time with my fiancée when I was locked beneath the palace by rebels, which you knew fully about." I hissed at her.

"Listen-"

"Seriously, not right now, Kriss." I pushed her away and went and found my family who had seen everything from another corner. "Hey guys." I smiled, trying to pretend my conversation with Kriss never happened.

"America, dear. How's Maxon holding up? It must be so hard on him." My mother asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"He's doing about as well as we can expect from the situation, I think he's speaking to his Aunt at the moment."

"And what about you, how are you doing? That looked like quite a heated conversation with that girl there."

"Oh, that's Kriss. We've just been having a slight disagreement as of late, nothing important. I just hope that Maxon's OK."

"You know, you are allowed to be upset as well, you don't have to stay strong for him. The amount of work you put into that service and the work for remembering everyone showed that you are just as upset as Maxon, and you need to cry just as much as he does. Just think on that ok?" I nodded. "I think that we'll head up to bed now, I don't think it's really the right place for us, a grieving room, no when we never even met them. Good night."

"Good night, I'll see you all for breakfast in the morning though?" My mother nodded and everyone else said goodnight before they retired to their rooms. I stood by myself for a little while, just watching the room, willing myself not to cry, though I did need to, like my mother said.

"Hey." Maxon grabbed my hand and I smiled back. "Hour's up. Time for bed."

"Ok, what's the proper protocol for leaving, I think it's impolite for the hosts to just disappear through a backdoor."

"No, we'll say goodnight to the room when we reach the door, and then leave after the room has bowed." He led me over to the big doors at the entrance and turned. "Goodnight all, feel free to stay as long as you wish." He bowed his head to the room and I copied, everyone else bowed or curtseyed in return and we left the room.

"So, how are you doing?" I asked when we got back to Maxon's room.

"Better than I thought actually, it really helped spending time with my aunt. I just wish that my lovely fiancée had stayed with us."

"I just felt that you needed some family time so I decided to go and speak to some other people."

"America, you are my family. You needn't ever feel unwelcome. Adele sees you as practically family, I know it all seems a bit strange now, but you are just as much a part of the Royal Family as she is."

"So if we're family, does that make this incest?" I joked, pushing him onto the bed and kissing him.

"Well, what's a little incest within the royal family?" He pulled me down on top of him, his arms holding my back.

"I love you Maxon." I whispered

"I love you too, America." We laid next to each other for what felt like an eternity, until Maxon sat up.

"So, I saw you speaking to Kriss tonight and it didn't exactly look friendly, want to tell me what's going on there." He asked in a seemingly sweet manor.

"She was just telling me all about the time you spent together while I was missing, really."

"America we just-"

"Can we please talk about this in the morning? I'm tired, it's been a big day and I don't want to go to bed upset.

"OK, good night." He called as I walked through to my own suite.

"Good night." I said as I shut the door. My maids quickly moved around me undoing pins and my dress before I was put into my nightie and they all bowed as they left to leave me to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

I hadn't slept very well, I was too upset. Why had he had to mention Kriss last night? I would've been fine, I just really didn't want to think about them being together. I wished I'd stayed with him through the night, I think that I needed him and he needed me. I got up out of bed and walked over to the door and knocked twice.

"Maxon?" I called but there was no answer. I opened the door but couldn't see him, the room was completely empty. I closed the door again and got dressed in a green day dress. I then headed down the corridor towards my family's rooms. Today was their last day in the palace they headed back to their house on the outskirts of the palace grounds, so I needed to spend some more time with them before they left.

"Morning guys!" called as I knocked and entered my mother's room, where May and Gerad were sat on the bed, talking while my mother packed odd bits and pieces into a bag.

"Morning." The three of them chimed back.

"Do we really have to leave the palace? It's so beautiful here, our house cannot be as pretty as yours!" May complained.

"May, you're welcome back any time but there's rigorous safety checks every time I leave, and if you live in your house then you can leave anytime you want to sell your artwork, paint, go to school, see people. You can do anything from there. Plus, I know that it is a very beautiful house that Maxon picked out himself." I sat down beside her on the bed.

"Ok then. As long as I can speak to you anytime I want to. I would like to be able to speak to the Queen whenever I wish." I laughed at shook my head at her.

"Fine, you can have the number to my direct line, May." I pretended to complain but we both knew that she would have it anyway. "I just came down to say that breakfast will be about ten, fifteen minutes, if you want to come down to the dining room." And with that I left them. I figured Maxon would probably be down for breakfast, unless it was an especially important meeting.

I wandered down to the dining room and sat myself to the left of the head of the table. I sat there, alone, for about ten minutes before my mother, brother, sisters, and James came in. I smiled at them all in greeting as my mother sat across from me.

"What's wrong?" She mouthed but I just shook my head, I didn't really want to talk or think about it all right now.

I sat quietly through breakfast as May chattered on to everyone about pretty much everything. I kept feeling my mother's eyes watching me so I tried to smile and look as if I was listening to May's stories. But I knew that she could tell something was wrong.

After breakfast I waved my family off from the steps outside the palace, I had hoped that Maxon would be here to say goodbye, but he must just be busy. I walked back upstairs to my study, planning on doing some more work on the wedding. I got out my notepad and started trying to design a menu but I gave up and was soon just doodling pictures of wedding dresses and cakes until I heard voices in the corridor outside. I couldn't understand what was being said but I recognised one of the voices as Maxon's so I decided to poke my head out and see if I could talk to him.

"I'm sure it'll all be fine Maxon." He was with Kriss, I tried not to let my upset get the best of me and thought that they were probably just talking, I didn't want to make the same mistake as last night.

"I know, I just wish that I could understand why she's so upset with me." Kriss put an arm on his shoulder, it really did upset me the way she went on with him, even after the Selection was over.

"You know that I would never be like that with you." I couldn't take them discussing me like that and decided to step outside, maybe if they saw me then I could actually talk to Maxon, rather than just be talked about to him. But that's when it happened.

It happened in slow-motion, but I couldn't move. First she put her hands around him and stood on her toes so she was the right size, and then she kissed him. I was momentarily stunned before I turned on my heels and went back into my office.

I slammed the door behind me, I didn't know what to do for the best now. All I knew was that I needed to talk to someone. I called for my maids, praying that Marlee might come too.

"America?" I heard Maxon call from the hall. I ran into my bathroom and locked the door, I needed to speak to my maids before I made a mistake and ruined everything with Maxon, again. "America?" He was in my room now. "I know you're in there, America. I'm sorry. She's gone…and I need to talk to you." I stayed silent.

"Oh, King Maxon." Lucy had arrived. "Is Lady America in here, she called for us?" I heard Maxon sigh.

"I think she's hiding in the bathroom. She's upset, I'm sure she'll tell you why. Just please, please tell her I love her, I'm sorry and I need her. Please." I heard the door click shut and Maxon's footsteps moving away down the hall.

"Miss?" Amy's voice travelled through the door. I unlocked the door and opened it. Like I hoped, Marlee was in front of the door and I completely fell into her, crying.

"She kissed him, Marlee. Kriss kissed him." The four of them stared at me in shock.

"What-what are you going to do?" Marlee asked, almost scared to hear the answer.

"Not invite the bitch to my wedding!" There was a small amount of relief on her face.

"So, what are you going to do about you and Maxon?" Lucy asked in a quiet voice.

"I love him. I just need to know what happened and I needed to speak to you guys before I got too upset and ruined it all." I paused to look at my friends. "Am I doing the right thing?" Lucy and Marlee nodded enthusiastically but Mary and Amy didn't look so sure.

"Yes, definitely. I mean, you love him. It probably wasn't even really him. From what I saw of him, he looked pretty worried that you were really cross with him." Marlee told me.

"But, I mean you definitely need to talk to Maxon about this so that you can find out exactly what happened, and don't forget, it's ok to be angry."

"Amy, last time I was angry I almost started a rebellion. I don't think that's the way to go." I smiled a little at the memory of that night.

"Go talk to him, now. Sooner rather than later. Get it sorted and then come back here and we'll see what we need to do next. Go on." Marlee almost pushed me out the door, where I saw Maxon sat at the end of the corridor, his head in his hands.

"Maxon?" I called, about to burst into tears again. He looked up and almost ran towards me.

"America. I'm so-" He started but I reached up and kissed him before he could finish. "Come on, we really need to talk about it." He led me through his bedroom and onto the balcony. "We need to talk about what happened with Kriss, but we also need to talk about you and Officer Ledger. I've been putting it off, but I think we really do need to talk about everything.

"Me and Kriss. In the corridor, it was her. She kissed me and I sent her away and told her not to come to the Wedding." He paused and looked at me. "If the Wedding's still on?"

"If you'll still have me after everything I've done to you." He grabbed my hand and smiled. I breathed out quickly. "Aspen and I were secretly together for about two years before the selection when he broke up with me and I was brought to the palace. Then he was drafted and appeared at the palace not that long after. We started seeing each other a bit, but I ended it the moment I realised things between you and I were real. When you saw us I was purely explaining to him that we didn't _sleep_ together, you know. I wanted to tell you about us, but I've made so many mistakes between us that I didn't want to screw it up anymore. Then I did and then I did, again, then I did a few more times, and then we're back to now." I looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Nothing at all happened between me and Kriss last week, she was just trying to keep me sane during it all. I love you America, there's no one I'd rather be with. I don't care about you and Aspen, just as long as you're only mine."

"Hah, I don't think that there's much that would tear him away from Lucy anyway. I am totally 100% yours, but I don't think that Kriss should come to the wedding or to the palace in general." I leaned over to him and kissed him lightly.

"So, we're all ok?" I nodded "Good." He smiled mischievously and grabbed me so that I was sat on his lap.

"Where were you this morning?" I asked, putting my arms around his neck.

"Early meetings that went on for what felt like hours. I was wondering if you'd like to join me in some of them sometime soon?" I looked at him, confused slightly. "I mean, you don't have to, but I thought that you could have a say in decisions too, since you're hardly going to want to be a silent Queen." He chuckled slightly.

"I'd really love that. Though I have no idea what to do." Maxon shrugged his shoulders.

"Just say what you think about the issue and try to be slightly polite."

"Sure, it sounds great, just as long as I can have some time off to do planning for events. You, know like the big one in a few weeks." He nodded and smiled at me.

"Now, I'm fairly sure you have four girls in your room sitting with their ears against the door, wanting to know what happened. Go talk to them for a bit and then join me for a walk around the garden?" I nodded, kissed him lightly and stood to leave, Maxon kept hold of my hand until the last moment as I walked back through the glass doors to his room and then through the joining room to mine, where the four girls stared up at me, their eyes wide and worried.

"It's all good guys, don't worry. We're completely and utterly fine." I picked up my notebook that I'd been doodling in before being interrupted. "Now, come on. We've got a wedding to plan."


	15. Chapter 15

I woke up at about half eight thanks to Maxon's eyes watching me. He was half sat up in bed, staring at me with a smile on his face. I pulled the duvet over my head and grumbled at him.

"Morning, Darling." He whispered, pulling back the covers and kissing me on the forehead. I grumbled again.

"Do I have to get up?" I asked, Maxon chuckled and nodded.

"It's not even that early! Come on, we have a meeting after breakfast and I want to make sure you're ready." I gulped, it was my first meeting with the advisors and I needed to make a good first impression as Queen and joint ruler with Maxon. I sat up, exhaled, and looked at him.

"What should I wear?" I asked. I was being completely serious but that didn't stop Maxon from falling back from laughing. "What? I'm being serious!" I hit him with one of the pillows that had been behind my head which made him laugh more, before hitting me with one of his own pillows.

"As punishment for hitting the King, I sentence you to spending the entire day glued to the side of the next handsome man you see."

"Well, if it was ordered by the King then I suppose I'll have to. But you'll have to deal with my fiancé when he finds out about this. And he's a scary man."

"Deal." He said quickly, kissing me deeply and forcing me to lie back on the bed. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and we both sat up. I pulled the covers up and Maxon put his dressing gown on and answered the door.

"Your Highness." A guard I vaguely recognised greeted and bowed. "It has been requested that your meeting today can be moved up by an hour. What would you like me to say?"

"Well, I suppose that should be fine. Thank you Officer…"

"Mason, Sir."

"Thank you officer Mason." The guard bowed and walked off again, Maxon turned to me. "Come on, get up and get ready as quick as possible, please. You heard the man, we only have half an hour and I'd like to be able to talk you through it for at least ten minutes. Meet back in here as soon as possible." He pressed his button to call his butler and I went through to my room where my maids were readily waiting for me.

When I was dressed in a straight blue dress with a high neckline and a white pearl necklace, I put on blue heels and knocked at Maxon's door and walked through.

"Wow, you look great, and it only took you fifteen minutes? I thought that it took you lot a lot longer than that to get ready."

"Not too bad yourself, and you are talking to the girl who loves sleep so much that my maids have had to figure out how to get me ready in record time." I smiled. "Now what do you need to tell me about these meetings?" I sat down in a chair at the foot of Maxon's bed and he sat in the one opposite.

"They are absolutely terrifying. I still remember my first meeting because everything's just so real, and the advisors are always out to intimidate me and probably you as well. Just to warn you of that. Also, just remember that they are not in charge. Since you are essentially Queen already because of…" He chocked a bit at the thought of his mother, I reached over and squeezed his hand, he smiled and then continued. "Remember the hierarchy is us and then them, not the other way round. No matter what they'd like to think." Maxon then talked me through the structure of the meetings, we'll enter, they bow, we all seat and the start by proposing the first issue which we then discuss in an orderly and polite manor before coming to a resolution. Then the next issue is proposed, discussed, resolved and so on. "Say what you think we should do and how you think we should do it, but no dissolving the castes straight away, try to not be too brash with what you want to do." I rolled my eyes at the memory of one of my biggest mistakes. "Remember that I am with you and that I support you, we're a team. A team that they cannot break up, though they will probably try."

And try they did. After we entered and we all sat in the meeting room they immediately proposed a topic that neither of us were comfortable with, and definitely hadn't discussed.

"Our first topic: Heirs." Just the chair of the meeting, an advisor named Miles, saying the name of this topic made me blush slightly, I prayed they couldn't see because I didn't want them to think they were succeeding in intimidating me.

"Surely that's more of a private issue?" I hoped it was, I really didn't want to continue this conversation.

"Hardly, Lady America, your heirs will be the future of the country; no heirs, no monarchs." Miles turned back to Maxon. "So, we think that you should have a few heirs and we'd like to get you both checked after all the trouble your parents had. If it's ok with you then we can have you done later this week?" I looked at Maxon who nodded so I copied him. "Good. So we'll get that booked in." He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "Ok, carrying on from that. The royal family has not been blessed with a daughter in a long time. If that should happen, how would you like to continue with the alliances of Illèa, who should be offered your daughter's hand in marriage?"

"No one." I quickly replied. "No one will get my daughter's hand unless she chooses them as her partner. I don't want her being forced from her home for the sake of an alliance." The looks on the advisors faces proved that this was not what they were expecting.

"I agree." I looked at Maxon who was staring at them, he clearly had been expecting my reaction. "We have made more progress with becoming allies with Italy in the past month just by America than we have by promising them Princesses if they came. Anyway, many countries have female heirs and it may help us if we have the same view towards our female heirs." I smiled, I liked the fact that Maxon seemed to see things the same as me.

"Well, we can look into changing the law and it can be discussed in our next meeting." Miles concluded, I could tell he wasn't happy and it was only because Maxon was king and technically in charge that it was even being considered by him. "Now for some more imminent matters." I sat up straight in my seat feeling that this was going to be important. However, Miles didn't continue. Instead he just stared at me. After a few moments I had to speak.

"What?"

"Oh, are you staying? I thought that you might need to do some work on the Wedding or other such things."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, well. I just thought that you were here for the part that concerned you and then you had other things to do." I looked at Maxon who appeared to have just as much knowledge of this as me. I could feel my anger rising and I stood to leave before I said something I'd regret.

"She stays. America will be just as much of a leader as me, I'd like her opinions on the issues; she sees things differently to us." He motioned for me to sit, so I did and he took my hand off my lap. "We're a team."

The meeting continued, it wasn't particularly interesting but I made sure to say my piece on subjects, generally backing Maxon up (especially when they disagreed). I think I managed to prove that I was an asset to the team. After the meeting Maxon and I walked hand in hand down for lunch.

"I think the meeting went well. However, I would like to discuss the first topic with you again." I laughed at the formality that clearly stemmed from a little bit of awkwardness about the subject.

"Is that the royal way of saying that you want to talk about starting a family?" He nodded. "Ok, but we can't get started until at least after the Wedding. Just because you're the King doesn't mean that I'm above the law." He laughed and led me into the garden.

We walked round to our bench where there was a blanket on the floor and a small basket on top. We sat and opened the basket that was filled with sandwiches and a flask of tea, I poured tea into two small cups and gave one to Maxon.

"So…children." I started.

"Yeah." There was some awkwardness between us as it wasn't a discussion that either of us felt ready for, but we both knew it was necessary. "I want lots, I want to fill our home with children."

"I think I can do that. I always thought I'd have a big family, I have a big family. Lots of children wouldn't be ridiculously hard to look after when you're not working to the bone as well."

"We still won't be a normal family, we won't have loads of time to just play with the kids, we'll have things to do."

"I know, but…no one does. Not really. I mean, the people out there, at the bottom, they work so hard just to buy food that they barely have time to eat it. We'll struggle just like anyone else, just in a different way to them. I think being a big family would be good, we could show that we are just like anyone else."

"So, lots of kids then?" I nodded. "Ok, when?" There was a very awkward silence as neither of us were sure what the other would say.

"Maybe a few months to a year after the wedding?"

"Ok, that sounds reasonable." He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into him. "As long as I can have my way with you on our wedding night." He pulled me on top of him and kissed me hard.

"Ahem. Your Majesty?" I quickly moved off him and we both sat up.

"How can we help?" Maxon seemed calm and composed whilst I was desperately hoping my face wasn't too red. He was definitely more used to all this than me.

"There are visitors wanting to speak to the two of you in the downstairs parlour, August Illèa is his name."

"Thank you, we'll be along shortly." The guard bowed and left. As soon as he turned a corner we both stood and almost ran down to the parlour.

Inside sat August and Georgia on two chairs and another two chairs facing them. When we entered, they both stood and I walked straight up to Georgia and hugged her, while Maxon shook August's hand.

"We offer our condolences for your parents, we both wanted to come to the memorial but thought that it might be slightly inappropriate since neither of them liked us in the slightest." August said before he sat down, Maxon sat opposite and I released Georgia so that we could both sit as well.

"Thank you. But we really need to get you to a better line into the palace rather than just barging in and demanding to see us. One day the guards might realise that you're rebels!" Maxon laughed.

"But breaking into the palace is fun!" Georgia complained.

"We're here, also, to discuss the Southern rebels. After the thing with America…"

"Ok, does the entire country know about that?" I interrupted, it was annoying that no matter how much I tried to forget it everyone kept bringing it up.

"America, I heard about it a few days ago from my spy in the Southern rebel camp. I swear that neither of us had anything to do with it." I nodded my head and August continued. "I think they're planning another large scale attack on the palace, probably at the time of your Wedding, congratulations by the way. How do you think we should proceed?"

"Cancel the Wedding." I immediately answered, I looked over at Maxon who looked seriously upset by this, I looked at him and grabbed his hand. "I love you Maxon, but I don't want to put people at risk. No one should go through what you did. I want to marry you, desperately, but…"

"I know, I understand. It's just hard to think about cancelling the Wedding. Surely that shows that we're scared of the rebels." There was a moment of silence between the four of us.

"What if you eloped?" Georgia asked, quietly. We all turned to look at her. "I mean, you could say you were visiting someone and then stop off, get married and announce it afterwards. Visit the selected girls or something. There would be no threat to the people and the country would see it as romantic rather than fearful, and no one would be angry for not being invited. Maybe you could then do a tour of the country and go and see our allies."

"Works for me. I'd like to see the girls again. Maybe we could end it in Carolina and get married then. Not elope really, just have a small impromptu Wedding."

"Ok, we could greet the girl and the mayor, have a quick tour of the city and then move on, maybe doing three provinces in a day?" Maxon seemed to like this deal just as much as I did.

"Now, we can't tell anyone about it until the day. No one, not the maids, guards or anyone. It must stay between the four of us." August gave me a stern look. "I mean it, there's no telling who might be a rebel and who isn't so, for now, we tell no one. We can't risk them finding out." He stood and Maxon quickly followed. "Thank you for meeting with us but I won't keep you away from your work any longer." They shook hands, I hugged Georgia again, quickly, and then we led the two of them to the main door.

We said our goodbyes and then Maxon and I headed back up to his study, we shut the door and locked it so that no one would be able to come in. Maxon wrapped his arms around me tightly and I threw mine around his neck. He kissed me softly and then held me for a few moments.

"I'm sorry about the Wedding, I know that you've been planning it, and I'm sure it would have been great." He whispered.

"It would have been great, but think of it this way, we'll be married quicker and we can do it without worrying about rebel attacks." I paused. "This is the price for all this isn't it, constant worry and fear."

"Yep." He laughed. "But we can do it, together." I smiled at the thought, Maxon and I were together and now the people to worry about could not pull us apart, no matter what they did.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry about the wait. I had written most of this chapter and then my computer deleted half of it** **. Anyway, enjoy and Review please!**

All through the days planning I was biting my tongue, wanting to tell them about the secret Wedding but knowing that I shouldn't. They noticed, obviously, that I was being much quieter than usual, which led to lots of questions from them.

"What's wrong, are you fighting again?" Marlee asked. I shook my head but I could see that she was still concerned.

"You can tell us anything, Miss." Lucy told me, she put a hand on my shoulder to show that she meant it.

"Guys, everything's fine, seriously. Come on, we need to decide on flowers." I moved to pick up some pictures but Marlee stopped me.

"No. You need to tell us what's going on, America. I don't want to plan this Wedding if it's not going to happen."

"As far as I know, I will be married to Maxon in less than a month. If you don't want to help, then fine. I've got other things to be doing." I started tidying up all of the folders and papers and put them on the shelf. I then moved over and sat at my desk and started reading the letters that I'd left there.

"Ok, you definitely know something. Something's going on, isn't it America. Tell us!" Marlee demanded. I paused, trying to think of something to say, stalling for time by pretending to be angry, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." I shouted before anything else could be said and Maxon walked in.

"Can I speak to you?" He asked me, it looked urgent.

"Sure." I nodded and moved towards the door.

"We'll finish this later." Marlee told me as I left, I nodded reluctantly, waved and left with Maxon.

Maxon grabbed my hand as soon as we got out of the room and started walking quickly through the palace towards the doors. As soon as he got out, he started running and I was struggling to keep up with him.

"Maxon, stop. I'm in heels." He came to a stop and I managed to half-run up to him. "What's wrong?"

"I just- I don't know how much longer I can do this, pretending."

"It's only two weeks, Maxon, I promise that all that means is that we'll be married quicker. Nothing else."

"It's not just that, it's everything. I feel like I'm just pretending to be King, just pretending to be in charge. I keep feeling like my father's just going to come in and change everything. Sometimes I wish he would." I leaned up and kissed him lightly before putting my arms around his neck.

"Maxon, we're in this together, remember that. I can't believe that in a few weeks I'm going to be your wife. Honestly, I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up and it's going to still be the Selection, or you're going to send me home or something."

"I can't send you home, America. This is your home."

"And you are the King. If we have doubts and worries, that's natural. As long as we have each other then I know that it's all going to be fine." I kissed him again and he smiled at me.

"Can I borrow you after lunch, I've got a meeting I'd like your support in?" He began to walk me back

"Please, Marlee and Lucy are grilling me."

"They know that you're not as into the Wedding planning as you were."

"Yep, they're convinced we're going to break up or something. I want to tell them so bad, but I kind of worry that then none of us will be able to plan the fake Wedding and we'll start planning the real one instead, which will kind of ruin it!"

"I've just been in a meeting where the publicity of the Wedding is being discussed. Whether there'll be posters, a special programme or what. We are ruining everything." He laughed.

"Has to be done, I'm afraid." I put my hand in his as we neared the doors and the guards became within hearing distance.

"Ok. Promise me that you won't tell the girls and that you'll go back in and plan the dream wedding for us."

"I promise, if you promise that I can bring them with me on the trip, as my maids, so that they can come."

"Ok, I can deal with that. As long as I get to marry you." He kissed me passionately and then led me past the guards and back into the palace.

We walked hand-in-hand through the corridors and back up the stairs towards our rooms, where he kissed me softly and then left to return to his meeting. I walked back through my door and sat on the floor near my Wedding shelf, picked up all the folders and spread them out on the floor again. I looked up and saw that Marlee was watching me closely whilst the others were sat in a small circle talking about something.

"That looked like quite the chat, do you want to tell me something." Marlee asked, she had clearly been watching but I couldn't decide if she had been listening

"There's nothing to tell. What? I'm not allowed to go on a walk with my fiancée? Maybe you should tell me what's wrong with you."

"I know why you're getting us all to come with you on your trip!" She shouted. I was taken aback, did she really know?

"And why's that? Because you're my friends and I want you by my side?" I shouted back, I wanted her to tell me what she knew before I blurted out my secret.

"You just want to parade us in front of all the twos around the country that looked down on you because you were a five. You think if you have sixes with you then you can show how much higher you are than them." I slapped her hard across the face.

"You really think that much of me Marlee? Do you even care what the real reason is? Or do you just see me as someone else now?"

"I barely know who you are anymore, and honestly I don't care." Marlee pushed past me and walked out the door, closely followed by Mary and Amy. Lucy stood and looked slightly nervous.

"Miss? Can I speak to you about something?" She asked. I nodded and sat on my sofa, motioning for her to sit with me.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, everything's great and that's sort of what I want to ask you." She paused and exhaled. "Aspen has asked me to marry him after his time in the Royal Army is over. And I said yes." She said quite quickly, it took a moment for me to register what she had said and with every second that passed I saw the worry in her face grow.

"My God. That's great news, congrats to the both of you." I hugged her. "Why did you look so terrified about that?"

"You have a past with him yourself and-"

"And it's exactly that, a past."

"Yes, but." She paused again to think about what she was going to say next. "I want to retire from the palace in the near future. I was thinking that the Wedding might be my last event." I looked down at my lap. That would mean that we had next to no time together, especially since the wedding she was meaning wasn't even happening.

"I'll let you retire but I have a few conditions." I paused and she looked a little scared and a little relieved. "One. We stay friends and you come visit often." She nodded but I continued before she could interject. "Two. You come with me on the trip, regardless of what the others tell you. And three. You let me tell you a secret that you can never breathe to another living thing, not Aspen, not Mary, no one. Do you agree to all of these terms?"

"Yes." She said quickly. "One and two definitely. Three, I won't be endangering them by not telling them, will I?"

"No, but they might be disappointed that they didn't agree to term two." She nodded and I braced myself. "Ok. I swore to Maxon that I would not tell anyone so, please don't say anything to him and look surprised like everyone else. Maxon and I aren't getting married the Saturday after we get back, we're getting married when we get to Carolina, we're going to stay overnight there and get married on the evening." She laughed.

"I know, America, I know and I already swore not to tell. Maxon told me this morning."

"Ok, I would just like to point out that I lasted longer than him. I think everyone should remember that when I get lectured about not being able to keep a secret." She laughed and I hugged her again. We chatted for a few minutes before there was a knock at the door and Maxon walked in. I smiled at him and shook my head, he sighed.

"So, you told Lucy then?" He asked.

"Told her what? There was nothing left to tell her, someone told her this morning about our secret plans." I kissed him quickly. Lucy quietly curtseyed and excused herself.

"I can't believe she told you. I thought I could trust her." He smiled.

"Why did you tell her?" I asked. I was curious because Lucy wasn't the first person I thought he would tell.

"I knew that the girls would be able to tell that you weren't as into the planning as before and I wanted at least one of them to be a bit understanding. I knew that Lucy wouldn't tell the others and I knew she wouldn't ask too many questions. But as long she understood, I could guarantee that she would want to come away and I knew that you needed her support."

"Aww, you're so sweet." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him firmly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back.

"I love you America Singer" He whispered

"I love you Maxon Schreave"


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, I'm sorry it's short but I'm trying a new idea with this story, if you don't like it then I have an easy (but slightly cliché) fix. Please review to tell me if you want me to continue with this line or go back! –chescaannie!**

"Are you sure you won't come?" I ask Marlee. She's still cross with me for the other day. I've apologised for hitting her but she has never apologised for the things she said to me.

"No, my lady. I wish to stay, as does Mary." I look past Marlee to the girl behind her and she nods in agreement.

"Amy?" I ask. Though she is my newest maid she appears to be the most loyal, other than Lucy, maybe she's scared of me. She nods and steps forward from behind the other two and stands beside Lucy. I smile at her. "Well, I'll see you two in a fortnight." I wave and smile at the girls before taking Maxon's arm and walking towards the car.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine when we get back, you'll see." Maxon whispers, pulling me closer to him and kissing me lightly on the cheek, I turn and smile at him. I enjoyed his comfort but I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. Surely Marlee would be angrier after she found out she had missed the wedding.

A butler opened the door to the car as we approached, Maxon slipped in and I followed in beside him. Lucy, Amy, Maxon's Butler Jeremy and two guards were in the car behind us but there was no one beside us two and the chauffer in ours (however, the chauffer was behind the thick black plastic that separated the two parts of the car).

I looked out the window and watched as the palace disappeared into the distance. Once it had gone I turned back and put my head on Maxon's shoulder, he put his arm around my shoulder and held me close.

"I love you." I whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up an hour or so later, when the mood had changed completely to tension.

"Maxon, what's wrong?" I asked, whispering. I was scared and the fact that I didn't know why made me feel even more scared.

"I-I don't know" He squeezed my hand, he was clearly just as worried as I was. I looked around.

"Where are we?" I asked. I could see nothing out the window except for the black. Maxon shook his head and stared straight forward as he pulled me in even closer. I could feel his heartbeat and mine in sync with one another, both racing in the fear of the unknown.

The car stopped and we heard the door slam shut as someone got out, then muffled voices got louder and the door slammed again before the engine burst into life.

"Just a few minutes longer Your Majesties." The driver announced. Maxon and I both relaxed a little but not totally as there was something telling me not to trust this man.

But, sure enough, after about five minutes more there was a break in the trees and we came upon a small dark building that the car stopped outside of. It was like no building we'd had in Carolina. The door beside Maxon opened suddenly and there stood a scruffy looking man peered in at us.

"Right, come on Your Majesty." He said in a gruff voice, when neither of us moved he grabbed Maxon's arm and pulled him, forcing him out and I followed, not wanting to leave him alone or to be alone myself. We followed the man in silence as we approached the building, my heart was racing. I knew that none of this was right, I mean where were the guards and my maids?

We entered the building and were greeted by a man that I recognised from somewhere but I couldn't quite figure out where from, by the time I realised, it was too late, though I still tried to warn Maxon.

"It was him." I whispered, clinging to his arm. "It was him that took me." He held me tighter but stayed silent and stared straight ahead at the man.

"Who are you and what do you want from us?" He demanded. The man just smiled slyly and I felt someone's hand on my arm. I turned slowly to see the yellowing teeth of a man who couldn't have been much older than me but it was hidden beneath dirt. I turned back to the man stood in front of us.

"Just a small thing your Majesty, in fact you can choose, your country or your lovely wife-to-be."

Maxon turned to look at me quickly, but it was too late. I saw his eyes watch me in fear but there was nothing he could do as I was harshly pulled away from him by the men who pushed me towards a door on the side of the wall. I tried to get away but struggling did no good, I managed to get a glimpse of Maxon who was being restrained by a few more rebels, a look of fear in his eyes before I was forced down a dark corridor and into a very small room.

I was released, well thrown inside, and then the door banged shut. I stood and banged on the door a few times but gave up after I realised that I could hear nothing going on out there, so it was unlikely that they could hear me. And, anyway, they just locked me in here, they won't let me out because I bang on the door a few times.

I looked around to take in my surroundings. It was dark and damp, due to the lack of windows, and there was a strange smell that I didn't want to think about the origin of. There was a small crack on one of the back walls that allowed for a thin beam of light to get in and illuminate a small part of the corner. I decided to sit there as I knew that it was clean except for a thick layer of dirt that covered the floor, but there were no insects or beetles so it could be a lot worse. From my spot on the floor I could see the door clearly (well, I was facing in that direction, it was too dark to actually see), though I was sat I made sure I would be ready to attack or defend myself if necessary.

I felt utterly useless, there was nothing I could do, no way I could help Maxon, goodness knows what was happening to him at this moment. Here I was just sat here, doing nothing at all, whilst everyone else in the country worked. I brought my knees up to my chest, suddenly feeling unbelievably lonely and cried.

 **Soooo…what do you think? Please review! Let me know what you want and I'll try and have the next chapter up by next week.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok, so this chapter is going to go between POVs so just be aware! This is just a short one but I will have the next chapter up in the next few nights, sorry! Thanks for all the great reviews by the way!**

 **DAY ONE**

 **MAXON'S POV**

They want me to choose. I know that they want me to choose America and quite a big part of me wants to but I can't let my country be run by the rebels. I'm fairly sure that she understands and would want me to choose Illèa because then at least I can look after her family. But what is my life without America, I mean who would I be living for if I didn't have her. I love her, she's the one who helped me through everything with my parents, she's the one I want helping me run the country.

I had been locked in a cell and told to think about my decision. It was dark, dirty and damp. Honestly, I needed time to decide but this didn't help because I knew that choosing America would mean destroying my country but I couldn't bare to think of her in conditions like these. If all had gone to plan we would be married by this time next week, it wasn't like I could just leave her and think nothing of it. I needed to talk to her, it was as simple as that.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I was still staring at the door when I thought I heard movement. I stood and prepared to fight, making fists and standing on my toes, ready to spring into action if needs be. The lock clicked, my heart was racing, the door squeaked open and jumped onto the person who had come through. I put one arm around their neck in an attempt to strangle them or at least show that I could if they refused to answer me.

"Who are you?" I demanded. They made an attempt to speak but I couldn't understand so I released my arms a little.

"Maxon." He whispered, still a bit hoarse. I jumped off him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"Sorry, it's dark in here." I whispered, he just laughed at that and held me tightly.

"I love you America."

"I know. I love you too, I'll miss you so much." He pulled away and I heard his footsteps walking towards the far side of the room.

"I'm sorry, America. I'm so so sorry. But I don't know what else I could do…"

"I know. I understand, I really do Maxon. As much as I want you to say that you're going to stay here with me for the rest of our days, I wouldn't want you to. Just. Just make sure that you eliminate the castes, find a nice wife who will make you happy…"

"America!" He interrupted. "America, I love you. I want you. I want no one but you. I will have you, we will be together again. It's just going to be a lot easier to get you out if I am not stuck here too." He pulled me in and kissed my hair. "I'll get you out of here if it kills me." He whispered before wrapping me in a deep kiss.

"And _then_ we'll get married?" I asked and we both laughed slightly, though I could tell we were both crying. There was a bang at the door.

"I love you." We both said together before the door opened and Maxon disappeared before I could even say goodbye. I sat back in my spot, pulled my knees up to my chest and cried.

 **MAXON'S POV**

It honestly broke my heart to leave America alone in that room, the only thing that let me was me saying that I would be back. And I would. I would free my love, but I also needed to think of my country and put that before either of us. Already we'd lost one King and Queen, Illèa couldn't afford to lose another ruler, and that needed to be me, for now.

When I left America's cell I was greeted by two rebels who 'escorted' (or manhandled) me through to the room we had been in before.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her." The man, who I assumed was the boss, grinned at me. I felt something hit me in the head and then nothingness.


	19. Chapter 19

**I would've had this up earlier but I had some server problems** **Oh well, here it is anyway, chapter 19!**

 **MAXON'S POV**

I woke on the side of the road a few hours later, just lying in some mud. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, praying that it had all been a dream, sadly the more I woke up the more I remembered it to be true. I had left America there, left her in that desolate place. I left the love of my life behind so that I could carry on being King. I had to do something right, she'd given up so much to let me do this. I stood, there were a few cars on the road and it didn't take long for someone to stop. It appeared to be a family, with the father driving, his wife next to him and two children in the back seat.

"Are you ok there?" The woman asked. As soon as she had spoken, her eyes widened and she looked very apologetic, as if she'd said something wrong. "Your Majesty." She added quickly.

"Do you by any chance have a phone that I can borrow?" I asked, I assumed that they were twos or threes, by the fact that they had a car, and so were more likely to have a phone somewhere. The woman nodded at me and rummaged around in a bag for a moment before revealing a phone and handing it to me. "Thank you." I typed in the number for the palace guard. It rang for a few seconds before a voice that I vaguely recognised answered.

"Good Morning, Officer Robert Powell of the Palace Guard speaking, how may I help you this morning?"

"Officer Powell, this is King Maxon, I need to speak with Officer Ledger if he is available."

"Yes, your Majesty." There was a moment of pause, presumably whilst he found Aspen.

"Your Majesty?" It was him but he sounded confused.

"Aspen, thank Goodness. I need you to come and pick me up. There's been a catastrophe."

"We know, we've been looking for you all night. Where are you?"

"On the side of a road just south of the city." I could see the lights of the city from here, we were on the side furthest from the palace, for once I was glad that my father had made me memorise the roads around the city, turns out it is useful!

"Ok Sir, we have a car in that area it will be with you in about half an hour. Good bye." I could hear the relief in his voice, clearly thinking that both America and I were safe now.

"Aspen, they took America." It hurt so much to say the words out loud and if it wasn't for the car full of people that were watching me. I could hear heavy breathing on the other end of the phone and then it cut out. I turned back to the woman who looked shocked herself.

"Did you say-" She started but then thought better of it and took back the phone that I was handing to her. "Never mind, good day Your Majesty."

"Good day and thanks again." I call as the car pulls away and they continue on their journey. I stand away from the side of the road, awaiting the car. It feels like forever.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I hadn't slept, but in what I assumed must be morning, a man came and pushed a bowl of porridge through the door, opening it slightly, pushing the food in and then closing the door again. I ate it quickly, not realising how hungry I had been until it was gone. It was pretty nasty stuff, far too much milk in it but at least it was food. Almost as soon as I'd put the bowl down there was a beam of light as the door opened again and a man stood in the doorway, he had a dark beard, but I could see nothing else of him.

"Follow me." He near-growled at me. I stood, my legs weak from sitting for so long made me almost fall down again, but I managed to remain standing and trudge along behind the man.

I followed him down a couple of corridors that were still quite dark though there were a few lights on the ceilings giving off a faint yellow glow. It felt like a maze and we ended up going down about five flights of stairs, but eventually we came to a little door at the end of a long hallway.

"Get in." He growled again as he opened the door. I obeyed and went inside the little room. It was colder here, I could tell that we were underground now. I turned and looked back at the door as it slammed in my face.

The room was smaller than the last but this time had a small yellow bulb that flickered on when the door closed. There was a small metal sink on one wall and next to it was what I assumed to be a toilet. Obviously there were no windows, so after only a few moments in the room I felt claustrophobic. It was worse in some ways, with the bulb being on, it showed me the entire expanse of my world, this would be home for the rest of my life, I suppose.

 **MAXON'S POV**

The second I walked through the doors of the palace I saw him. Aspen Ledger. The ex-boyfriend of my one love. There was a part of me that said I should hate his guts but there was another part of me that knew that he may be my best chance at getting her back.

"I-Is it true, did I hear you right on the phone. Is she gone?" I could hear the desperation in his voice but I knew that I would break down when I told him what happened.

I ushered him into one of the smaller sitting rooms just off the main entrance way. He sat on one of the couches and looked up at me expectantly. So I recounted the entire events, from the rebel posing as the chauffeur right up to me phoning for help, after which he was silent, saying nothing, doing nothing, except thinking. I thoroughly understood his silence, I mean I was still in shock and I'd got it in small pieces, how would I have been able to cope if it had all just been given to me all at once like that.

"You're an idiot." He said finally. I stopped pacing (which I had absentmindedly started doing after telling my story) and looked at him. "You're an idiot, Maxon. You don't get a second chance with America Singer. She'll have found someone else before you know it. Someone she swore she would never love." The last part was added in a mutter. It took every part of me not to punch him right there and then.

"Do you not understand me Ledger? She's with the rebels. We have to rescue her." I shouted. His face remained straight, unmoved by the whole thing.

"And I will do whatever it takes to do that. I'm just saying that if you somehow get her back and manage to keep her love, never ever let her go again."

"I didn't want to let her go this time." I whispered, I was fed up of arguing. America would still love me after all this, wouldn't she? "Great. Nine in the morning, meet here and be ready to free America."

I walked upstairs to my bedroom in silence. It felt utterly wrong, all of this, but I knew it was the only way to save her. I prayed that she knew that this was the way that it must be. I prayed that she would still love me when we were reunited. I prayed that she could find a way to forgive me.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

This is hell. I'm trapped in a room, with no one. I'm lonely and scared, I don't know what to do. I know I need to get out. I know I want to be above ground with fresh air in my lungs and Maxon's arms around me. I'm not sure how long I can stand this, and it's only been a few hours (maybe, I have no concept of time in here). The door opened and a man walked through, he had short, dark hair and a slight smile.

"Come with me, Miss America." I stood and followed him down the hall and into another room. There was a chair in the centre of the room and some rebels were sat on chairs around it. The man pushed me into the centre chair and took one of the chairs around it. Opposite me sat a man, who I assumed was the boss, who had a red beanie hat over his hair and almost down to his brown eyes. I studied him, trying to figure out a weakness, but he looked so strong and confident, I figured his only weakness was his arrogance. Maybe I'd find a chance to exploit that later.

"Good morning Miss Singer. We would like to ask you some questions, your co-operation would be greatly appreciated and we may be more gracious towards discussing your release." I nodded slowly. I knew that I should try not to answer their questions properly, but I really did want to get back to Angeles, the Palace, my family, and to Maxon. "Good. Firstly, how long have you stayed in the palace."

"Almost six months." I answered, I was shocked, had it really been that long?

"And how many times was the palace under attack during that time?" I tried to think, I honestly couldn't count. There were a few times that stuck in my head, obviously. Maxon and I in the small safe room, the last one in the selection, the first attack I saw. There must have been at least ten attacks.

"I'm not sure." I answered honestly. "I don't think that I can count them all, at least ten, probably."

"And where did you hide during these attacks?" Oh, so this was why they wanted to know about the attacks.

"Safe rooms." I said confidently, it wasn't a lie, I just wasn't being very clear about their locations.

"Clever." The man said sarcastically. "Where were the safe rooms?"

"I don't know." This, once again, wasn't really a lie, I mean there were so many safe rooms, I didn't know the locations of them all yet.

"You must know or else you couldn't have gone in there."

"Well, clearly you know about the locations of some because you had me locked in one for a few days. Didn't you?"

"We know there are other entrances to that one and we know that there are many others for the palace staff."

"I don't know where they are! I never used them. It wasn't part of the initial welcome tour. On your left you will see a secret safe room that no one must know the existence of. It just didn't happen." He stared at me for a bit and I stared back before he finally sighed.

"Put her back, she needs a few more days in solitary before she'll speak to us properly." The man from before stood and grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me from the chair and then out of the room. I willingly walked back along the corridor towards my cell and stopped in front of the door.

"You know that you've got him cross with you now." He near whispered.

"I'd rather he hurt me than the people I love." I answered, not lowering my voice.

"I told them you'd be like this, I watched you on the Selection, I mean you were the most defiant of the lot. I thought you would've made a great Queen. But, whatever. You're here now so I guess we'll never know." He pushed me into the room and shut the door with a bang. Leaving me alone once again, with still know idea of the time or even the day.

 **So what did you guys think? Leave me a review please! I want to know if you like it or hate it. I'll see you next time.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I can't believe that we're already on chapter twenty! I thought I would make a cover to celebrate but then I remembered that I am rubbish at anything like that so we're sticking with the no cover option, sorry! Enjoy this chapter (which is about a week or so after the last one).**

 **MAXON'S POV**

I got up at one in the morning most mornings, unable to lie there, trying to sleep any longer. Instead I decided to wander the halls of the palace, but everything just made me think of her and the decision I'd made. I turned down a corridor on the second floor and heard faint crying coming from the other end. I considered leaving again but then thought that whoever it was needed some comfort tonight, as did I.

"Marlee?" I asked when I got closer to her. "Marlee, what's wrong?" She looked up at me and wiped her eyes in a failing attempt to stop crying.

"I'm fine." She said and stood up, turning away from me.

"Marlee…"

"She thinks I hate her." She whispered. "The last real thing that I said to her was me telling her that I thought that she was a bitch, essentially. She apologised to me but I never did to her. I just thought that she wanted me to go so that I would see my family again, and I know that she meant well by it, but I just can't face them. I haven't spoken to them since Hallowe'en. I just wish I'd told her that, rather than just pretending to be angry with her. At least we could've come to some sort of agreement and we wouldn't have left it like that."

"Ok. I don't know if this is going to make this better or worse but the reason she wanted you to come is we were planning on getting married when we were in Carolina. But however bad you feel remember that I'm the reason that that is no longer going to happen. It's my fault." I sat down on the seat. "America will always love you, you guys are best friends. But I don't see how she's ever going to forgive me." Marlee sat beside me and put an arm around me in an attempt to comfort me.

"You're right, she won't forgive you. Because there's nothing to forgive. She understands what happened, and I know that she wouldn't blame you."

"You didn't see her after it all went down with you. She wouldn't talk to me for over a week because she though I hadn't done enough to help you."

"Yeah, but she didn't understand. She thought that you'd forced me to be caned, she didn't know that you'd saved my life. This time she knows the full story and it's what she wanted you to do. When we get her back home, everything will be fine. You two will get married and I'll live here forever because we'll be best friends again and she won't want to let me go."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now go and get some sleep, your majesty. I'm told you've got a meeting with Officer Ledger in the morning." She stood to leave.

"Marlee, do you want to come along?" She turned and smiled at me.

"I'd love to. See you at nine." She walked away.

"Wait how did-"

"I have my spies." She laughed as she turned around a corner.

I sat for a moment longer before heading back to my room. I still ended up just lying on my bed, not sleeping, just lying there. Still it was better than it was before I spoke to Marlee, I seemed to get some rest.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

My brain isn't working anymore. I'm fairly sure it's only been a few days that I've been in this room but I have no idea what time it is. Whether it's day or night, whether I'm hungry or I just ate. I honestly have no idea what's going on. There's times where I'm not even sure who I am.

"Good morning, America." The man from last time greeted me, opening the door of my cell.

"Is it?" I asked and he laughed. He led me back to the room of chairs and I sat willingly.

"So, have you thought more about the locations of the safe rooms?" The man asked again.

"I don't even know what time it is, it's not as if my head's in the right place to think right now." I said, he sighed.

"Well, get your head in the right place, or else you'll never see your Maxon again. Or your family. How are they going to cope when they don't get any money coming in from you?"

"Maxon will take care of my family as best he can and, anyway, they're talented enough for them to look after themselves. We managed for years, with two more mouths to feed. I'm sure that my sister will help where she can and my mother can look after two children easy."

"And what about when he forgets and moves on and your family has to move back to Carolina and live in the tiny house you grew up in and struggle on like you used to."

"Maxon would never do that!"

"And what if Maxon doesn't love you as much as you think?" He stared at me and I just stared back, trying to not take what he was saying to heart. "Take her away, I've had enough of her for today." I happily stood and walked towards the door but was escorted back to my cell.

"You know, he would be a lot easier on you if you would just tell him the truth." He said.

"I do. I told him more than I want to. I'm here to protect my family and fiancé and I'll die before I'll fail in that mission."

"I'm not sure you can call him your fiancé anymore. He announced this morning that he was proposing to that Kriss." He shut the door hard on my face. And left me to wonder if he was telling the truth in the lonely, yellowish glow from the flickering light.

 **MARLEE'S POV**

I was sat in the meeting with Maxon and Aspen, and I was bored. The two of them were just yelling at each other about something. It was probably to do with rescuing America but, I'd stopped listening an hour ago. They both just kept yelling! They had the same ideas as they had two hours ago and neither were listening. I'm fairly sure that they both blamed Maxon. I still hadn't had the full story of what happened. I mean, how had their driver been a rebel without anyone noticing? How had the car behind not noticed when it disappeared? I mean, the maids and everyone got back to the palace. Wait… they just appeared back at the palace with no idea, they didn't even go to whatever province it was that was their first stop.

"Hold that thought." I shouted as I ran from the room. I ran straight down from the entrance to the servant's quarters and prayed that Douglas would be in the staff room. Or if not someone who would know where he would be. Thankfully, I saw him as soon as I opened the door.

"Douglas." I said, running out of breath. "Douglas, you were driving the maids' car, right?" He looked at me and then silently nodded. "Can you come with me?"

"Ok…" He agreed and I led him back up the stairs and towards the room where we were having the meeting. When we entered the room they both looked surprised to see me and then even more surprised by the sight of Douglas bowing as he came in.

"Douglas, this is Officer Aspen Ledger and, of course, King Maxon. Guys, this is Douglas, one of the chauffeurs who was driving the maids' car the other night."

"Good morning Douglas." Maxon smiled for the first time in days, I could tell that he thought we may now be onto something. "Are you ok to answer some questions about the drive?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Ok, when did you notice the car was missing?" Maxon asked, Douglas looked scared and tense, I couldn't decide if it was because he was in the presence of the King or because he knew something.

"Um. Well, by the time we left the city I was quite a few cars behind him but I could still see the car. Then all of a sudden, I couldn't. I thought maybe he was just more in front than before so I stopped at the petrol station, where we had pre-arranged to meet up, and when he never showed I called the palace and when they couldn't get in touch with anyone, I came back here."

"Are there any turn offs into the woods around there?"

"One. That I know of anyway. It's pretty much just a disused dirt track, I've only ever seen tractors go up there." Maxon shot up and reached for the road map that he and Aspen had been looking at.

"Where?" he asked desperately. Douglas pointed to a spot and it was marked by Aspen with a pen.

"This is great. Thank you so much. Why didn't we think to speak to you earlier?" Maxon muttered before going back to a conversation with Aspen. I just laughed and turned to Douglas.

"They've been like this for almost a week, every day. I have no idea what they're talking about most the time. Thank you so much!" I smiled at him. "You can get back to your break now if you want." He turned to leave.

"Douglas?" Maxon called, Douglas stopped and I could almost see the fear rising in him. "Thank you for your help today, you may have just helped find the future Queen." Douglas bowed, smiling and walked out the room again. "And thank you, Marlee. That was a stroke of genius from you. I smiled and took my seat again, half listening to their chat. Though they still hadn't found her yet, I felt like they were now somewhere near the right page now. Maybe it wouldn't be too much longer before she came home.

 **Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy Marlee in this chapter? I thought she was great to write about. See you all next time and don't forget to review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**AMERICA'S POV**

I've been in countless interviews where I've been shouted at for not knowing enough. I get told bits and pieces about the outside world. I'm told how the planning for Kriss and Maxon's wedding is going. They think that it'll make me want to tell them how to break into the palace but what they don't seem to understand is that I don't care. I love Maxon so much that I just want him to be happy, and if that means marrying Kriss then I hope she can make him as happy as I could.

"Where are the safe room entrances?" The man demanded of me every time I saw him.

"I don't know." I answered looking around the room. I could see the annoyed faces of about ten rebels. I'd become almost friends with the one that escorts me, called James, so I stick my tongue out at him. "When can I go home?" I ask.

"Never, unless you start taking this seriously and answer my questions."

"Fine. Ok, I am taking this seriously." I breathe slowly twice. "No. Still don't know. Can I go home yet?" The man sighed at me again, as he did most days.

"Fine, take her back to her cell. I'm fed up of her. Tonight, we attack the palace."

 **MAXON'S POV**

It's been almost a month since I lost America. It's been two weeks of meetings, plans and shouting matches between Aspen and I. I would have spent even more time in these meetings but I still have to meet with advisors to discuss the war in New Asia and the general running of the country. I know that America wouldn't want me to neglect the country because of her, but it's hard when she's all I'm thinking about, even when I should be thinking of something else. Everything in the palace felt wrong without her. I couldn't go outside, I couldn't hear music, everything reminded me of the fact that she wasn't here. Even the other day, we managed to make some progress towards a peace treaty with New Asia and we were all smiling and laughing, so happy that we were finally getting somewhere, when I had to excuse myself because I was about to burst into tears because she wasn't here to enjoy it with us.

I kept myself busy, if I wasn't I a meeting with advisors then I was in one with Aspen and Marlee, we were getting close to finding her we think. Since Marlee's breakthrough in asking the driver of the other car we have managed to determine a rough location. However, we still don't know how to attack to get her back. There haven't been any rebel attacks lately, so whatever she's doing, she's doing a good job of it.

I was eating dinner with Aspen and Lucy, and Marlee and Carter, we weren't discussing rescue missions for once, in fact we were just talking about their lives. We were half way through desert when I just couldn't take it anymore and had to leave, I said I was tired and had to sleep. Honestly though, it was the first time I'd spent time with two couples that were probably only really friends with me because of my other half who wasn't there.

I was just outside my suite when the alarm rang. I dove into my room and then through the secret corridor towards the safe room. When I got there it was empty, there was no one else to fill it anyway. I sat on the edge of the bed that was down there and prayed for everyone's safety.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I sat in my room alone after the meeting. I wasn't doing anything in particular, just sat daydreaming. I would have been staring out the window but there wasn't one. After a little while James knocked on my door and came in.

"Hey!" I smiled, it was the first time someone had actually spoken to me.

"Hey, everyone else is gone and I'm here to make sure you don't escape so I figured I might as well come down here."

"James, what day is it? How long have I been here? Is it day or night? I need some grounding, I haven't seen light in god knows how long!" I complained.

"I can't tell you. It's all part of the plan and if they find out that I broke it then they'd kill me."

"Fine."

"I like you, America. I would tell you if I could."

"Sure." I was cross with him because he didn't seem to like me at all, if he did surely he'd let me go.

"Honestly, America. I like you much more than they want me to, that's why it has to be a secret." I turned to look at him but couldn't as his lips crashed into mine.

That kiss was enough to wake me up and before I knew what was happening, I felt my fist against his jaw and a distinct click sound. I jumped up and ran towards the door.

"No. America no. Where are you going to go? He doesn't love you anymore!"

"I'm getting away from you, this place. There's a lot more out there for me than just Maxon. I have a family, I have a life, and I'll be fine." I scream as I slam the door shut on his face and sprint towards the stairs.

Normally I would've struggled in one of Mary's dresses up the stairs but I'd had this one on for so long now that it was ragged along the bottom anyway and the colour was now much browner than before. I managed to sprint up the stairs with no issue. I knew I had to be quick, who knows when James would figure out a way out of there or the other rebels would return.

At the top of the stairs I pushed through a little old door and came out into the corridor that my first cell had been on, after the next door was the room that Maxon and I had been first taken into and just after that would be the exit. This made me run even faster and before I knew it I had burst out of the main door and I was out in the cold air of the night.

The air woke my soul further and I remembered everything that had happened. I remembered that Maxon had proposed to Kriss.

"Where do I go? What do I do?" I whispered to no one. I couldn't stay here, it wasn't safe, I wasn't sure that Maxon would want me back in the palace with Kriss, even if he wouldn't mind could I really stand being there with the two of them? I was cross with him, though. I mean here I was doing so much to keep this country safe and there he was wasting no time before finding his next bride. I needed to see him, see if it was true. It could just be something I was told to try and break me.

I wandered the woods for a long time, so long that it was almost light by the time that I finally found the road that I'd been able to hear for a while. I stayed in the tree line but followed the road, just in case the rebels came and spotted me walking along the side of the road. Eventually, I realised the only chance I had of not having to walk from here, where ever here was, and find my way to the palace, was to hitch a lift off of someone. Almost as soon as I emerged someone stopped and shouted.

"Are you Lady America?" I whipped round at the sound of my name and saw a happy looking woman leaning out of her car. I walked towards her.

"Yes, could you do me a favour and take me to the palace? If it isn't too much bother." I asked, she nodded and opened the passenger seat door for me. I jumped in and sat down in the seat. The car was much smaller than those used by the palace but I suppose that was to be expected. We set off and I stared out the window, watching the sun rise over the city. I could see the palace in the centre as it came ever closer.

"So, what's been going on?" asked the woman who was driving.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, last I heard, the King and you were taken by rebels who later released him and not you."

"Yep. And then I managed to escape whilst there was an attack on the palace."

"Oh God. Really?" I nodded. "I hope that everything's alright for when we get there."

"I'm sure everyone got to safety, it's no secret that these attacks aren't exactly uncommon."

"Yeah, but. Won't the palace be in a bit of a mess?"

"Probably, but it'll be ok."

"Because you'll be reunited with your love." She stated, smiling.

"Everyone really does watch the Selection, don't they?"

"Yes. And we wanted you for our Queen. Especially after what you said about the castes!"

"I thought that only the lower castes liked me for that. You must be at least a three!"

"I'm a two. But I fell in love with a four and my parents would never allow me to marry him. We're thinking of running away together but…I think he would feel guilty, making me move down to four when I could be a two."

"I get that. Just remind him that you love him and that's all that really matters. I'm sure your parents will love you no matter what." She laughs.

"My parents think that because I didn't get into the selection and marry Maxon myself I'm worthless. How do you think they'll react to me marrying a four?"

"My mother was the same. She thought that I should marry a three. That's a lot to live up to when you're a five."

"Yeah, but you did better, you're going to marry the King."

"Isn't he marrying Kriss?" I ask. Was all the rebels told me a lie?

"No. He's spent the last month searching for you." I'm gobsmacked, and I can't stop smiling. It was just a lie. I do still get to marry my love.

"I'm sorry, I'm so rude. What's your name?" I ask and she laughs.

"Julie, who just realised that she shared more with you about her hopes and dreams than anyone, without telling you her name." We both laugh. We chat for the rest of the journey about nothing in particular until we get to the palace gates.

"Silence. That's not a good sign." I whisper. "Hey, write to me and tell me how it's going with you and that boy. I'll be waiting and I expect an invite to the Wedding."

"Maybe my mother will come too if I get the King and Queen of Illèa to come!" She laughs.

"Well, hope to hear from you soon!"

"You will." She says as she drives off, leaving me at the gates of a very quiet palace. I press the buzzer on the gates and wait for the reply.


	22. Chapter 22

**MAXON'S POV**

I don't know when I fell asleep but I am woken by a guard in the safe room.

"Your Majesty. The attack is over. It lasted two hours and there were no fatalities and few wounded." I stand and the guard looks me up and down, checking for wounds probably.

"I'm fine." I sigh.

"Still, I think you should head up to the hospital wing, Sir. I'll tell them to expect you." He ran off before I could disagree.

I decided to ignore him anyway; I had things to do. So I headed to my study to see if I could get some work done before I met with Marlee and Aspen again. There was so much I had to do, rebels to contend with. The advisors and I had been meeting almost daily to try and come up with a plan to strengthen us and, so far, we had only come up with one: have an heir. Sadly, we needed America for that and I'd been told that I had to be married by the end of the year, no matter what. The quicker that I had an heir, the sooner my family would be safe.

I sat myself in front of the mountain of paperwork that I had been neglecting recently and set to work. I needed something to distract me for a bit. I must have only been there for half an hour when the door burst open and Marlee stormed in.

"Weren't you told to pop down to the hospital wing?" She asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I don't have time for that Marlee, I have too much work to do already." I said, annoyance showing in my voice.

"Oh, I think you do. See…ok this was going to be a surprise for when you got there, I mean the guards kept you in the safe room for almost an extra hour to plan this, and here I am, just going to ruin it. But, oh well!"

"Marlee, if it's important, just tell me, or else let me get on." I snapped.

"America's here!" She squealed.

"What?" I looked at her smiling and nodding her head. "Why didn't you tell me before?" I smiled back. I ran past her at the door and she chased me down to the hospital wing.

There were only a few guards in the beds from the last attack, clearly it wasn't too bad. I stopped outside the first private room and peered in the window. I could see the bright red hair of America, I knew it was her but she didn't look quite as vibrant as she usually did, understandably though.

"You can go in you know." Marlee whispered, appearing beside me.

"I don't want to disturb her. She looks so fragile." I whispered back.

"All you've dreamt of for the past month is this moment, and you're worried about disturbing her. Honestly, she'll be mad if you don't go in now."

"What if she's just mad with me? I mean-let's face it- I didn't find her, I gave her up. What if Aspen's right and she'll never forgive me?" Marlee just shook her head at me.

"Both of you are such idiots you know. You haven't seen what most of us have seen from day one. That you love each other and are willing to do anything for one another. I've already told you, she won't forgive you because she won't see that there's anything to forgive. Now will you just go see your fiancée?" She demanded.

"Ok. But if I don't come out alive then you have to stop the rebels." She smiled and I opened the door to the room.

I sat on the seat by the bed and just stared at her, her hair was nowhere near as bright as the last time I saw her and her skin was paler than ever. I picked up her hand, which was freezing cold, and kissed it. I'd missed her. The door opened and Dr Ashlar walked in holding his clipboard of notes.

"Good Morning, your Majesty, I thought you'd be here by now." He said, not looking up from the notes.

"Is she going to be ok?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. She's just malnourished and dehydrated. She'll wake up anytime now, we've had her on an IV drip for a couple of hours and when she wakes up we'll keep her under observation for a couple of days and then she'll be free to go." He moved over to the other side to take her pulse and wrote a few things down before leaving the room again.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I floated back into consciousness and felt a hard grip on my hand. I pulled it away quickly.

"America?" I heard a whisper say. My eyes fluttered open and I could see bright lights shining straight above me. "America, are you there?" The voice asked again, grabbing my hand once more. I managed to focus on the ceiling above me.

"Maxon?" I asked in a hoarse whisper. I hoped it was him that I could hear.

"America. I've missed you so much!" I said softly, but excited. He kissed me softly on my forehead and squeezed my hand again. We sat in silence for a moment before I had to find out the truth and ask.

"Maxon, are you marrying Kriss?"

"What? Of course not. Why would you think that?" He looked confused.

"Oh, just heard a rumour." I mumbled.

"However, there is something you should know about," I turned my head to look at him, he looked serious. "The advisors want us married as soon as possible. Like within the next month and they have said that they think it would be best to have an heir sooner rather than later." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok, that I can do. We were supposed to be married last month. Twice."

"Third time lucky?" He chuckled and I smiled at him.

"I'm so glad to be back."

"I'm glad too. What do you want to do first? A walk in the gardens? A strawberry tart?" He smiles at me.

"As soon as I get out of here I'm making a beeline for my bath. Then maybe we'll do the walk and strawberry tart." I decide.

"Let me go speak to Dr Ashlar. I'll be back soon. I love you." He said softly as he stood and left the room.

"I love you, too." I whispered back but he'd already gone.

It was a few minutes before Maxon and Dr Ashlar came back.

"Good morning, America. How are you feeling today?" Dr Ashlar asked, a clipboard and pen in hand.

"I'm fine, a bit tired, but fine." I said, sitting up.

"Ok, well there's nothing on the charts that should suggest anything. You can continue your recovery upstairs if you would like."

"Yes. I would like that very much." I smiled.

"But I'm putting you on bedrest for the rest of the week, so no meetings." He glared at Maxon. "And I'm putting you on nutrient pills for a while." And with that he left the room. Maxon walked over to me, sat on the edge of my bed and grabbed my hands.

"Whenever you're ready we can head up."

"Oh, I'm ready. I need light." I laughed and stood up. I fell again fairly quickly but Maxon caught me with one arm around my waist and the other still holding the other hand tightly.

"Ok. Come on." He pulled me into him and slowly walked me towards the door. We slowly walked upstairs towards the suites, Maxon never letting me go for even a second. Eventually we came to my room and he led me to my bed.

"Can you get Mary to run me a bath?" I asked.

"I can do that for you." He said, walking away to the bathroom.

"Maxon, no. I want to sit with you for a bit. Please, just call Mary."

"OK. Anything for you, my darling." He kissed me lightly and pressed the button to call my maids before sitting next to me on the bed. I pulled my feet up and put my head in his lap.

"So. What have you been up to?" I asked as he started stroking my hair.

"Not much. Meetings with advisors, meetings with Aspen and Marlee, sleeping and eating if I get a chance."

"What were you meeting with them for?"

"Trying to find you, my love." He paused. "You know, when I first got back here after…you know, Aspen told me that you would never forgive me. Is that true?" I sat up, crossed legged and turned to face him.

"No. I will never forgive you." He looked away from him but I turned his face back to face me. "There's absolutely nothing to forgive. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if the country was in the hands of the rebels. I knew that I would get out eventually, and I can tell that you tried to find me. I found an opportunity to get out and I used it. I can't hate you for my opportunity appearing before yours!"

"What was your opportunity?" He asked. I stared back at him.

"Umm. Well, you see…" I started.

"My Lady?" Mary appeared and curtseyed at the door.

"Thank you Mary. Could you run me a bath?"

"Yes, of course." She curtseyed again and walked through to the bathroom.

"I've told her not to be so formal but, she still is." I laughed and shook my head.

"America, please. I want to know what happened." He begged.

"Ok. I was locked in a room underground. There were no windows, just a flickering light on the ceiling. I was taken in for questioning fairly frequently. They wanted to know about the safe room. At first I simply denied all knowledge of them at all, but then I went a bit crazy. I didn't tell them anything but it was more because I couldn't than I didn't want to. They got frustrated with me and tried to make me crack by telling me that you were engaged to Kriss, that you didn't love me anymore I sort of made friends with one of the rebel guards who was making sure I was locked in. And then everyone else got fed up with me and decided to attack the palace, leaving just me and this rebel. He came in to chat with me, and then he kissed me." I paused and looked at Maxon who looked upset. "But I pushed him away from me, got over my crazy and managed to get out. I managed to hitch a ride with this woman and she brought me back here." He couldn't even look at me. "I'm sorry Maxon. I love you. Please forgive me."

"Go take your bath." He said, gesturing to Mary who was now stood at the door. "We'll talk later." He stood and moved towards the door.

"Maxon. I-"

"Later, America, later." He left the room without as much as a look back.

"Come on, miss. Let's get you cleaned up." Mary said putting an arm around me and leading me through to the bathroom that smelled of blackberries.

I took of my thin, hospital gown off and Mary helped me into the bath. The water was warm and felt great on my skin. I submerged myself fully under the water and stayed there for a few seconds before coming up to the surface. Mary carefully shampooed my hair, as if she was trying not to hurt me, and then poured water on the top to wash it off.

"I heard what you said to Maxon." She whispered as she started lathering up my hair again.

"And now you hate me too."

"No. You went through a heck of a lot for him, for all of us. I don't think he's angry, I think he just needs time to process." She said softly.

"I hope you're right. I love him, I don't want him to hate me."

"Of course I'm right. We've all known from the beginning that you two were in love. We always knew that you would win, pretty much from that first night." I smiled at the thought as Mary finished washing my hair and helped me out the bath again.

I dried myself with the towel and wrapped my hair in it, and then put on my dressing gown. Mary led me through to the bedroom. I sat on the bed as she went through my wardrobe and emerged with a light blue day dress. She dressed me quickly, pulled my hair into a loose bun and quickly did my make-up lightly. I smiled at myself in the mirror. I looked and felt normal and human again.

"Now go, find Maxon. He's probably in his study. Talk to him and everything will be fine. I promise." She smiled, grabbing one of my hands. "Do you need a hand walking over there?"

"No, I should be fine." I shook my head and walked slowly out the door and down the corridor. I knocked on the door to Maxon's office. I heard him sigh.

"Come in." He shouted. I opened the door to find him bent over his work at his desk.

"Maxon?" He turned to look at me and his eyes lit up. He quickly came over to me and pulled me into his arms.

"I'm sorry. For everything." He whispered into my ear. I turned my face and kissed him softly. As I pulled away he stroked my cheeks and pulled me in for a passionate kiss.

"I love you Maxon Schreave." I told him.

"I love you more America Singer-Schreave." He whispered back and I smiled at my future name, and the fact that we were finally reunited.

 **SO, DID YOU ENJOY IT? SORRY IT TOOK A WHILE, JUST GONE BACK TO COLLEGE AND I'M ALREADY STRESSED ABOUT WORK! HOPEFULLY THE NEXT CHAPER WON'T BE LONG, BUT PLEASE REVIEW IN THE MEANTIME.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AMERICA'S POV**

"So Saturday's the big day, how are you feeling?" Marlee asked. I'd only been home for two days but the advisors wanted to waste no time in getting us married so in another three days we'll be wed.

"Nervous but excited." I said.

"I'm just glad that all we have to do for the dress is a few small alterations, thank God we had all this done last month." Mary stated, sewing at the white fabric. I started pacing up and down the study and fiddling with my hands.

"It'll all be perfect, America." Marlee said, grabbing my hands and stopping me from moving.

"With my track record? Please."

"I promise that this will be perfect." She smiled at me and I smiled back. We hadn't talked about our last argument but we'd decided to forgive and forget. There was a knock at the door and everyone in the room looked to the door, guessing it was the one person who could not see any of this.

"Um. Who is it?" I called.

"Silvia!" An agitated voice called. I was supposed to meet with her this morning! I ran to the door and opened it.

"Silvia. I am so sorry, I got caught up in preparations."

"Queens are never late!" She said, barging straight past me. "You are all dismissed, I need to have a meeting with Lady America." She shouted putting her folders on my desk.

I looked at my maids who hastily put away folders, put the dress back in the garment bag and left the room. I looked back and she was already sat in the chair, I sighed and picked up the chair from my make-up station and put it at the desk.

"OK. First things first. Your family are arriving in the morning and will stay until the day after the Wedding. Your honeymoon to Italy will commence when they leave and you will be coroneted the day after you return. Most people are able to come to the wedding, except for the German Federation and, of course, Asia."

"I didn't even know that they were invited."

"Of course they were, we thought it might be a good time to make peace."

"You know, sometimes I think that this wedding is more about making peace, allies and for the people, than it is about Maxon and I." I complained.

"Yes. Of course it is. You're going to be a royal, that's all your entire life will be for from now on." She shouted at me. "So, the flowers will be white, to show purity, and there will be some colourful wild flowers, to keep Italy and Greece happy. These will be the same flowers as you will hold in your bouquet. I have organized the seating chart" She pulled out a large piece of paper from one of the folders. "You and King Maxon will sit at the centre of the top table with the Kings, Queens, and leaders of our allies sat with you. There will be clusters of tables around the room where the other guests will sit, and the dance floor in the middle where you will share your first dance." She smiled for the first time. The door opened and we both turned to see Maxon striding in. I stood to greet him and he placed a kiss on my lips and then wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Can I steal her for ten minutes?" He asked Silvia who glared back.

"Fine. But I'll be back in ten minutes, there's more I need to go over before she refuses to do anything in order to see her family." She marched out of the room and I glared at the back of her head until the door banged shut.

As soon as the door was closed, Maxon wrapped the other arm around my waist and kissed me passionately. I wrapped my arms around my neck and enjoyed the kiss.

"How am I going to be a Queen?" I asked, staring up at the wonderful man stood in front of me.

"You'll be a great queen, you'll look after your people, you'll do great." He kissed me again.

"But. I don't understand protocol. I'll never get it straight in my head how not to insult the other countries. I'll never be able to sit like a good little Queen on the other side of the room to my family." I tried to walk away but he grabbed my shoulders.

"America. Silvia puts a lot of emphasis on protocol but, they don't care that much. I mean, this weekend, they're coming here to celebrate us. They couldn't give a hoot about protocol really. You did a great job with Italy and everything went wrong with the German Federation, and they haven't started a war over it. You're going to be an excellent Queen, America. Anything you need to know you'll pick up in no time. And, in the meantime, you have me and Silvia to keep you right and support you." He kissed me again.

"I love you so much, my King." I whispered.

"I love you more, my darling." He whispered back and kissed me softly. "I'm afraid I have to get back to my meetings before someone comes looking for me, but I'll see you at dinner?" I nodded and smiled at him as he left my suite again. Soon Silvia would be back through the doors and she would be shouting at me again. But at least I knew I had Maxon, and that made everything worth it.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I left America's room and quickly walked back to the meeting room, where I had left six advisors arguing.

"So, what have we decided?" I asked as I entered.

"We have all agreed on the same conclusion." Daniel, my head advisor, said standing up from his seat. "We have decided that the best course of action is to triple the protection on the day and double on the honeymoon." I nodded. That made sense.

"And remember, America hears no word of this, do you understand?" I asked glaring at the men around the room, who each nodded. "Good, because if she finds out about this threat then the whole plan goes to pot." Each man nodded again. "Well then, meeting adjourned." I sat down as everyone else left, leaving me alone in the room.

I stared at the piece of paper in front of me. I was so scared. ' _We've had her once, we'll have her again, on this, your wedding day.'_ They were going to try to take America again on our wedding day. Of course I didn't want that to happen, but we were fed up of living in fear of them. This is my country, they will not force me to do anything that I don't want to. If they think that they can they have another thing coming. I threw the paper across the room.

I left, slamming the door behind me, I nodded to the guards who stood outside and headed downstairs to my gym. I started stretching on the floor and doing simple push ups. This was the only way I could get rid of my frustration. At least if I did this then I would be better prepared to protect her myself if needed. Once I was done stretching I moved onto weight lifting. I pretended that the weights were the bodies of rebels trying to hurt us, once I did that I found that I could lift about double what I normally could. This was definitely a good way to remove pent up frustration. There was a big part of me that wanted to tell the guards to shoot the rebels on sight, or anyone they even suspected. But I knew that that wouldn't make me a beloved king. But we did have to stop them. How could I remove the threat without killing what I assumed was a couple of hundred people? If I did that then when I am gone, I won't be remembered for removing the castes or whatever else I might do that's good, all I will be remembered for is being a mass-murderer, because some people didn't agree with me. History won't care that they were trying to bring harm to my family. The motives are not considered in history, just the decisions made. But if I did nothing then I would be remembered as the king who stood idly by and watched as rebels killed my people and my family. I couldn't let my children follow in those footsteps, in some ways I would rather they had to follow a mass-murderer. I just hoped that once we started improving the country they would see that I am not the enemy, I am not my father. I already have the northern rebels on my side, why can't I have the southern rebels too? What if I captured them, or at least a few of them, and asked them why they were attacking? Maybe then we could all make the country a better place for everyone. Talking to America during the Selection had already opened my eyes to how awful my country could be, it had helped me to decide how I could make it better, if I could do that with people with clearly different problems, maybe I could make it a great country for everyone.

Before I knew it, it was half past five so I ran back upstairs and quickly showered in my bathroom, I then came back put and put on the casual suit that was laid out on my bed. I quickly dried and brushed my hair before leaving again, America would surely be ready and waiting now. I stood outside her door and could already hear the raised voices of her and Silvia, what were they arguing about now? I knocked and heard them silence and America opened the door smiling.

"Ready for dinner?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes, just a moment." She turned to Silvia. "We'll finish this meeting in the morning? Good night Silvia." She stated, not leaving any room for a response before she came out and shut the door behind her. I took her hand and started walking down the corridor.

"Everything ok?" I asked.

"I'm not going to pretend that it is because I can tell that you heard my shouting. But I'm not really in the mood to discuss it."

"Ok. Let's just go and enjoy our dinner." I squeezed her hand and led her outside to our bench in the gardens, where there was a blanket and a basket of food ready and waiting. I sat down on the red blanket and she sat next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Silvia thinks that Kota should be the only one of my family allowed at the wedding." She said softly. "She says that he's the only one who could properly conduct himself in front of royalty. And there's a pretty big part of me that knows that she's probably right, I mean, I can barely conduct myself properly in front of royalty and I've been living in the palace for the last six months or so. But, if they aren't coming then I don't think I could go either."

"They're coming America, they are. I promise you that." I told her.

"No. You can't say anything to her. I need to solve it on my own so that she can see that I am going to be a great Queen, that I'm not just going to be the King's wife. That I am going to be Queen. Once she understands that then she can be my advisor and help me decide when I don't know. Then she might stop insulting my family. Don't worry about me. I'll sort it. Thing is, she knows that that's the one thing that could possibly stop this wedding from happening. I know it's stupid, but I kind of think she doesn't want it to happen." I put my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me.

"We are getting married on Saturday, I don't care what anyone says or does." I kissed her and lowered her onto the blanket, her hands finding the back of my head and playing with my hair. She sat up after a few moments.

"Come on, let's eat." She demanded, reaching for the basket of food.

"You really are just here for the food, aren't you?" She nodded and we both laughed. As we ate I prayed that everything would be alright.

 **Wow. 23 Chapters! Ok, so I think the next chapter is going to be the wedding day, I am looking forward to writing it so it will probably be up within the next week or so. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, please review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**This is a shortish but sweet chapter. I hope you enjoy it, next chapter should be up soon.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

"Miss, miss. Wake up!" Mary shouted at me.

"Five more minutes, please. It's my wedding day." I complained.

"Yes and we have to get you ready." Marlee stated, flopping down onto my bed and pulling the cosy duvet from me.

"Fine. What time is it?"

"It's half nine." Mary told me, as she left to run my bath.

"What? Why didn't you get me up earlier?" I groaned as I jumped out of my bed and ran over to the bathroom. Mary laughed at me as I quickly undressed and jumped in as soon as she turned the taps off.

"What happened to you wanting another five minutes? She laughed.

"No time. The wedding starts in three and a half hours. I don't have time to sleep, I'll sleep later."

"I don't think you'll do much sleeping tonight!" Shouted Marlee from the other room. I rolled my eyes as I heard her giggles.

"She is right you know." Mary smiled.

"Ok. Everyone shut up. There's too much to do to be gossiping." I shouted, which was met by a chorus of giggles. After I was thoroughly washed and dried I walked back through to the bedroom.

"Time check?" I demanded.

"Ten fifteen." Lucy shouted back from inside my wardrobe where she was making last minute changes to the dress.

"Ok. We have two hours people. Hair-Mary, make-up-Marlee, dress-Lucy, Amy-help where needed." I pointed at each girl respectively and sat myself down at the mirror. There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Maxon's voice came through the door.

"No!" Marlee yelled back. "You can't see her until one!"

"Please? I just want to talk."

"I'm not in my dress or even had my hair done yet. It's just a few minutes." I whisper to my maids, they nod and walk out, leaving the door open for Maxon to enter. Maxon came in and was followed by a man who was holding a book. I pulled my robe tighter around my body and stood to greet Maxon and this guest.

"Darling. You look lovely, as always." Maxon said kissing me on the cheek.

"What's up? Because I really do need to start getting ready."

"Come over here." He took my hand and led me out to the balcony. "I've been keeping something from you." He started and I just stared at him, fairly sure I knew what he had kept had been about. "There have been threats of an attack today. We've doubled and tripled the guards but there is no promise that that will keep them away. I didn't tell you because I worried that you would want to cancel it again. And I so desperately want to be married to you, the sooner the better." He nodded to the other man who then came through the balcony doors. "So I figured, why wait until this afternoon? If there's a disruption and we're already married then we won't care, and if there isn't then we'll have an extra few hours of married life. What do you say?" He held my hands and I just nodded, I couldn't think of any words at that time. "Well, this is Reverend Paul and he'll be marrying us today." He smiled, neither of us taking our eyes off of one another.

 **MAXON'S POV.**

I smiled at my beautiful bride as she ran to put on a dress and get Marlee and Carter to come in as witnesses. Eventually Carter came out and Marlee rushed into America's wardrobe to get her ready.

"So. Are you ready to get married?" Carter asked.

"Yeah. I think so."

"Are you sure? Because everything changes when she walks through that door. Believe me."

"I love America, I want to marry her." I told him

"I'm not saying you don't. I'm just saying that nothing will be the same between you. You will be partners, not just a couple." I smiled.

"I know."

And then Marlee came in, closely followed by the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was wearing a pastel green dress, I think I'd seen her in it before but, she had never looked this radiant. She had paired it with a silver diamond necklace and white shoes with small heels. I smiled at her and took her hand as she joined me in front the Reverend. We just stood there, staring at each other, I wasn't even paying attention to anything other than her.

"Do you America Singer, take thee Maxon Schreave to be thy lawfully wedded husband, to honour and to keep, to cherish and to keep, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do." She smiled and I could feel tears threatening to fall.

"And do you, Maxon Schreave, take thee America Singer to be your lawfully wedded wife, to cherish and to keep, to love and to hold, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride." I kissed her softly but could feel that we both wanted more, but it wasn't currently appropriate.

"Can I please have ten minutes alone with my wife?" I asked our guests, Marlee smiled slyly and nodded.

"Ok, but just ten minutes, so no hanky panky. Save that for tonight." She giggled, grabbed Carter's hand and the two of them followed Rev. Paul out the doors.

I practically dragged America over to the bed and threw her down, pinning her down and kissing her lightly all over her face before leaning in for a deep kiss that somehow ended up with her lying on top of me on the bed.

"I love you my royal husbandness." She whispered, laughing slightly.

"I love you my America Schreave." I whispered back and flipped us over so I was on top, before kissing her again. Everything was perfect and now I only had to get through the next wedding.

 **So, hope you enjoyed it and I'll write again soon. Please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**AMERICA'S POV**

I stood outside the great cathedral doors with Marlee and Aspen. We all looked up in awe at the grandness of the buildings, though we were all currently living in the palace, it was still strange to see such buildings that we were wanted inside. Considering we were a four, a five, and a six this was hugely different from what we were coming from. I never expected to be here, wearing this extravagant white dress. It was beautiful, flowing down to the floor from a tight bodice. The skirt was covered in slightly sparkly netting and was separated from my plain white bodice by a light blue sash.

"I never thought I'd walk you down the aisle. For so long I thought I'd be at the other end." Aspen chuckled.

"That was a long time ago." I laughed. "You were a six, I was a five. After today I'll be a one, and you're a two. And you have Lucy now." I teased.

There was a single knock at the door and Marlee squeezed my hand and smiled before walking through the door and into the cathedral.

"It was less than a year ago, Mer."

"Feels like a lifetime ago." I whispered.

"Doesn't it just." I put my arm in his and we walked inside.

Everyone stood as we entered. It took a lot of effort not to gawp at the beautiful decorations I could see in my peripheral vision. We turned and walked between the aisles that were filled with people who wanted to be here. I spotted an extremely excited Nicoletta and then thirty-one smiling faces from the selection. Even Kriss looked happy! I looked up and towards the front and saw the biggest smile in the room. Upon seeing him my smile grew to the same size and Aspen had to drag me to stop me from speeding up to run towards my husband.

Maxon looked handsome in his military uniform and he looked at me as if he was proud to call me his wife. Once our eyes locked, they stayed locked. Aspen kissed me on the cheek and then left me at the top of the aisle, still staring into Maxon's eyes, my husband's beautiful brown eyes stopped me from paying attention to what the bishop was saying. I just stayed lost in the beautiful world of my husband.

I somehow managed to say everything at the right time and before I knew it Maxon's arm was around my waist and we were walking back down the aisle as a truly married couple. Then we were outside, walking down the path towards a car, with throngs of people standing, cheering either side. It reminded me of the start of the selection, people wanting my autograph and pictures, however this time I didn't want to sign anything or take pictures with anyone. In fact, I didn't want to leave my husband's side for a moment more than necessary. I knew that tomorrow he would have to go back to being King, but for today, he was just my husband.

We got into the white car at the end of the path and sat together on the cream leather seats and waved to the crowds as they disappeared. I pulled a cream curtain across the window and turned to look at Maxon as he did the same.

"Congratulations, my dear." He kissed me softly.

"Congratulations, your Majesty."

"You look beautiful. Really, you look so-"

"Thanks, but you should really compliment my maids, they did everything."

"They didn't get married twice in one day, and look phenomenal at both, and then graciously greet the crowds." I smiled at him.

"Guess I'm going to have to get used to having no private time?"

"Oh no. I'll make sure we get our private time, don't you worry, my love." He kissed me again and I rested my head on his shoulder until we got to the palace gates and we could see the flash of cameras through the curtains.

"Ready?" Maxon turned to me and I nodded.

He grabbed my hand with one hand and opened the door of the car with the other. He stepped out and helped me out the car, like the gentleman he is, and held my hand tightly as we slowly walked towards the palace, smiling at the people and waving every now and again. When we reached the doors of the palace, we turned and waved one last time before disappearing into the palace.

"Come with me, I have something to show you." Maxon took my hand and led me up the stairs and towards my old selection bedroom.

He opened the door to reveal a beautiful white grand piano in the centre of the room, around it were countless other instruments, a violin in one corner and a guitar next to it. Maxon led me to the piano and lifted up the lid of the stool, revealing several thick files of sheet music. I fingered through the folders, flipping to random pages, to songs I knew so well I didn't need the music and others that I'd never heard of before. The fourth folder was filled with blank sheet music, presumably to write my own songs on, something I did enjoy doing. I looked up at Maxon who was beaming at me with one hand behind his back.

"I found this the other day when I was…cleaning. Thought you might like it." He gave me a small jewellery box.

"No way, you can clean yourself?" I mocked and he laughed slightly.

I opened the box to reveal a necklace, but not just any necklace, my necklace. My songbird necklace that I had given the King at the Convictions. I gasped and looked up at Maxon and realised that when he said 'cleaning' he meant he'd been sorting through his parents things. I threw my arms around his neck.

"I told you that I'd help you do that." I whispered and he pulled me closer.

"I know, but I needed to do it alone. Anyway, if you were there then I never would have found you your wedding present." I could almost hear the smile on his lips and I pulled away from the embrace to look at him.

"But I didn't get you anything." I moaned. Truly cross with myself for not thinking of getting him anything. "What can I give you?"

"Oh, I know what you can give me." He waggled his eyebrows at me and I laughed. I kissed him softly on the lips, which soon turned into a passionate kiss. I felt his arms on my back, feeling for the buttons keeping up my dress.

"Uh uh mister." I pulled away and smiled at him. "We have a party to go to in half an hour and I have to go and get my make-up and hair re-done. Anyway, we need to save something to do tonight." I flashed him a smile and walked out of the room. I headed upstairs to my suite where my maids were all ready and waiting to go. In fact, as soon as I walked through the door Marlee pulled me towards the vanity.

"Where have you been, we were expecting you almost quarter of an hour ago!" She yelled at me.

"I'm sorry, Maxon wanted to show me the new music room and give my necklace back." I smiled at her but she did not look surprised or amused, in the slightest.

"We only have twenty minutes to get you back to looking perfect thanks to your detour. Come on ladies, move. We have to turn this five into a one and we have no time to do it in. Make her a Queen!" She ordered. I smiled and watched the reflection of my maids rushing about around me, the wife of the King of Illèa. The wife of Maxon Schreave.

 **Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review it! Thank you! -Chescaannie**


	26. Chapter 26

**DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT COMES OUT ON TUESDAY IN THE UK? THAT'S RIGHT HAPPILY EVER AFTER. HERE'S THE CHAPTER TO CELEBRATE BECAUSE I WILL PROBABLY BE IN A BOOKSHOP BUYING AND THEN READING SAID BOOK. SO EXCITED. ANYWAY, ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

 **MAXON'S POV**

I watched her leave the room. America was an image of grace in her dress, she would be an amazing Queen, even if she was struggling to believe it, I knew and that was most important. I knew that I could trust her to carry herself with poise and grace no matter what. And that was why it was killing me that I had to hide this from her.

After a couple of minutes I walked out of the room and along the corridors towards the meeting room where the advisors had no doubt congregated to give me the news. The good and the bad. I paused as I came through the door but after a couple of deep breaths I managed to walk through the door. I never imagined I'd be at a meeting on my wedding day.

"So, tell me the truth and the whole truth." I ordered as I shut the door. I sat down quickly, knowing I wouldn't want to be stood for the next part.

"The good news is that there were no civilian deaths." One of them told me. He was in charge of public welfare so of course that would be all he would care about.

"However, we had several injured soldiers." The solemn man at the back of the room informed me. He had been an advisor for almost as long as my father was king, he knew the costs of war and so was in charge of warfare.

"And what about the rebels?" I looked around the room, daring one of them to answer.

"They got away, most of them. We couldn't stop them, they knew we would beat them and ran before we could get them." I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Of course. I needed at least one rebel to find out what was going on. "That is except for the two that the men managed to capture and are currently being held down in the cells." I smiled again.

"Great. Keep the security at a high level in case they try to attack and free their friends. Keep them in there until I get back." I stood, smiled at them all briefly, and then walked out of the door and across the hall to my suite.

It hadn't been a long or tiresome meeting so I had managed to come out looking quite smart. But not quite grooms worthy. I ran a comb through my hair and straightened my tie. I could hear the chatter of America and her maids coming through the walls and knew they were still hard at work. I checked the clock, ten minutes until we were due at the reception, she'd be ready for then.

I sat down in my chair by the bed and put my face in my hands. What if the reels never gave up? I wondered. What if they constantly attacked my family for as long as there was a monarch on the throne? I couldn't bear the thought of living in the constant fear of something happening to my children or my America. No. I wouldn't happen. I would sort it out, finish this vendetta before it had even begun, and I wouldn't let it ruin mine or America's day. They best day of our lives.

After a few minutes I walked to the door that connected my room to America and walked through smiling. They were all still hard at work, bustling around America, putting hair in certain places. I can't pretend that I understood any of it but I enjoyed just watching them all. I sat myself down at the seat by her bed and looked over, I caught America's eye in the mirror and she smiled but said nothing.

"So, are you looking forward to tonight?" Marlee asked, smiling mischievously.

"You mean the party. Yep, looking forward to that. Do you all have your dresses ready, you're cming right?" She answered.

"We wouldn't miss it." Lucy promised.

"And then we won't see you again until you get back from the honeymoon." Marlee mocked and America rolled her eyes at her.

"There. All done, you look like a bride again." Mary said as the three girls stood back and admired their work. "Now, go find your husband and go to your party."

"Thank you, I'll see you down there soon, go get ready." America told them and they all walked out the room, still not noticing that I was in the room.

"Is this what it's going to be like with you as my Queen?" I asked going over and wrapping my arms around her and placing my head on top of hers.

"What do you mean?"

"No one noticing me when I walk into a room any more. All they see is the most beautiful woman they have ever seen." I kissed her hair lightly.

"Yeah, sorry about that, my royal Husbandness. Queen trumps King, always." She grabbed my hands and pulled me closer into her.

"Come along Mrs Schreave. We have a party to go to." I grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the chair, out of the room and along to the great room.

 **AMERICA'S POV**

We stood outside the great hall doors hand in hand, smiling and waiting for the great wooden doors to open and we could see our guests.

"Maxon and America Schreave. King and Queen of Illèa!" We were announced and the crowd went wild as the doors opened and we walked into the room. I beamed at everyone, spotting my family, the selection girls, Adele, Nicoletta and so many more people that I was fairly sure I should know.

Maxon led me out into the centre of the room where the people had made a space for us to share our first dance as a married couple. The music started and I rested my hands on Maxon's shoulders while he held me by the waist. I barely noticed the masses of people around us watching and taking pictures, instead I stared into the eyes of my husband, the man I loved more than anyone else in the world. And he stared back, gazing into my eyes, too. Suddenly I could see our future clearer than I'd ever seen it before, I saw me holding our first child, Maxon sat beside me. I saw our children playing in the garden while we watched from our bench. I saw him when we were old and he still woke up and told me I was the most beautiful woman in the world. I knew I'd married him and I'd known we were going to get our happily ever after together, but now I realised that we were really going to live our lives, forever intertwined and neither of us would ever give up on the other.

 **SO? DID YOU ENJOY IT? LEAVE ME A REVIEW AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**


	27. Chapter 27

**AMERICA'S POV**

I woke to the feeling of Maxon's kisses on my neck. I groaned wanting to go back to sleep and pulled the pillow over my head, not that that stopped him. He pulled me out from under the pillow and squashed me between his arms and his chest.

"Please, Maxon. We have a few hours before we have to leave. Let me sleep, for just a little while longer." I begged but he didn't release me.

"I want my wife as near to me as possible." He mumbled to my neck as I felt his hot lips against my bare skin.

I sighed and rolled over to face my husband. His blonde hair was still messed up and his eyes still looked as if they'd rather be closed and sleeping, but he still managed to look so handsome. I felt his bare chest moving beneath my hands as he moved his head towards mine and kissed me and pushed me down onto the soft mattress. My hands explored his chest and stomach before finding their place on his lower back and pulling him further into me. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Go away!" Maxon shouted before coming back down and kissing me again. Whoever it was knocked again.

"Please, your Majesty. It's important." The voice, which was clearly male so probably one of the guards, implored.

Maxon sighed and moved off me and got up out of the bed, grabbing his robe and quickly tying it as he made his way over to the door, which he opened only slightly.

"What is it?" He asked, frustration showing in his voice.

"It's the rebels." My ears pricked up at the sound of this oh-too familiar word. "One has escaped."

"Give me five minutes, I'll meet you in the meeting room." Maxon sighed and closed the door as the guard left. "I'm sorry my love. We might have to push the honeymoon back by an hour or so." He sat on the edge of the bed and patted my hand.

"What's this about a rebel escaping? When did we get one so that it could escape?" He said nothing and moved his hand back to his lap and stared at them both, clearly trying to pretend he hadn't heard my question. "Maxon?" When he still didn't reply I realised exactly when it had happened. "Oh. My. God. This was happening when we were getting married? The rebels attacked and you didn't even tell me?"

"America… I just didn't want to ruin a perfect day."

"So when did you even have time to deal with any of this. You were with me all day. From the moment we were married until right now." I paused. "Except for the half an hour before the reception, which you insisted was necessary but I didn't see the point in. Were you interrogating him then or…"

"No. No. I just spoke to my advisors quickly and told them to keep them both locked up and secure until we came back from our honeymoon." He had fear in his eyes, I could tell he was scared of what I was going to say, I didn't exactly have a great record for not flying off the handle with Maxon when he did something that upset me a bit. But, he was my husband now and I needed to show him that I loved him and that we would withstand anything.

"You were going to keep this to yourself, worrying to yourself, for two weeks while you were supposed to be enjoying our last bit of privacy?" He looked down ashamedly. "Right. We're going to get this sorted. I'm going to get dressed, I suggest you do the same." I smiled eyeing his robe. "And then we'll head to the meeting room. Together." I smiled and put one hand on his. He looked up and smiled back.

"You are honestly the best wife, ever." He kissed me softly and then stood to get dressed. I reached for my robe and tied it around my waist before heading through the door to my room.

"Ok, ladies. We have five minutes, simple today please." I asked and my maids quickly sat me down and did my make-up and put my hair in a simple bun.

Lucy wasn't here, I was about to question it but I remembered that last night had been her last job as my maid, today was the first day of her being pretty much a two. Soon I was dressed, too, in a light green day dress. It was tight to my skin and stopped just above my knee, it was paired with a pair of white pumps with a heel that was so small there was pretty much no point to them other than adding difficulty to my walk. I thanked Marlee, Amy, and Mary, and knocked before entering Maxon's room, where he was sat waiting on the bed.

"Ready?" I asked, making my way to the door.

"Come here for a minute." Maxon grabbed my hand as I passed and pulled me so that I was sat next to him on the bed, still holding his hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the rebels, I just didn't want to ruin our special day."

"Maxon," I smiled "we're a team, you and me. Ok. You can tell me anything and I promise I won't let it come between us. I worry about you, you know. You're essentially alone in this, except from me. And I don't want you keeping anything to yourself, let me carry some of the burden, please."

"So you forgive me for keeping this a secret from you?" He looked and sounded confused, I shook my head.

"Maxon. You've forgiven me for so much worse than you keeping this a secret so that I wouldn't have to worry with you. I love you." I kissed him softly, I could feel us both wanting more from this… a lot more. "Come on, let's get this meeting over with." I stood and dragged Maxon up, out the door, and to the meeting room, where we swapped places so that he could enter first and I could be just behind him.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I walked into the meeting room with my head held high and my wife at my side. I was going to deal with this like a king, like the king that America thought I was.

"So we now have one rebel locked in the prison and one on the run?" I asked, just trying to clarify the information, I was met with nods from around the room. "Ok. I think we need to forget about the other rebel and focus on the one we have. We can interrogate him as soon as possible and sentence him, and just forget about the other one, there's nothing he can do except bring attention to himself and draw the guards from the palace, and I want them protecting the royal family."

"We thought that, too. So I have taken the liberty of planning the interrogation for three this afternoon." Davies, one of the older advisors who'd served my father for a long time and had never really liked me very much told me, smiling smugly. He knew what he'd done, and he'd done it on purpose.

"Why? Why three in the afternoon. Why not before eleven this morning?" I demanded, leaning over the table. America grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards the chair.

"It doesn't matter Maxon, we'll go another day." She whispered, but I was still angry. I breathed a couple of times as I watched his smug little face, he needed replacing.

"Fine. Three this afternoon. I'll be there. Robins," I turned to my left and looked at the man who had supported me more than any of the other advisors. "Tell the pilot that we will be postponing the trip until tomorrow." He nodded. "Any other business?" I stared around the room at the advisors, none of them saying anything. "Good. I'll see you all at three at the prisons, good day." I smiled and took America's hand and led her out of the room again.

We walked together along to my room where breakfast was already waiting on the table by the balcony. As soon as we entered the room there were the sweet aromas of toast and marmalade, crumpets, and coffee. All of which were waiting for us on the table.

"Well, welcome to our first breakfast as a married couple." I smiled, biting into one of the crumpets, America did the same and we both ate the food in near silence, both too hungry, or cross, to say anything to the other.

"I'm sorry about the honeymoon. But we'll go as soon as we possibly can. I promise." I looked her in the eye and told her but she just shook her head.

"I don't care. I wanted to spend time with you on our honeymoon, just us two, but we can do that here as well." She took my hand and looked deep into my eyes. "All I've ever wanted is you. If I'd stayed a five and married another five, or even a four, we wouldn't have done anything. I just want a few days with just you. I don't care where it is." I smiled back at her.

"Well, we have a few hours of 'just us' time before three you know…" I waggled my eyebrows and she giggled.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hmm. That's strange, I'll just have to show you then, my love."

I picked her up out of her seat and threw her onto the bed before pinning her down with a passionate kiss. My arms found the back of her dress and I began to fumble with the buttons as her hands found my chest and were attempting to undo the buttons of my shirt. Eventually, she succeeded and I shrugged the shirt off as I still struggled with her buttons.

"Ok. New law from the King. Tell your maids, no more damn buttons!" I whispered between kisses, she laughed and her fingers moved from my chest to her back to help me with the buttons, which she did easily of course. I pulled the dress down and threw it onto the floor, exposing her body. I kissed a line down from her neck as she fingered the scars on my back.

"Your Majesty?" Someone knocked on the door.

"GO AWAY." I shouted back. Before returning to America's lips. He knocked again. I gave America a look of exasperation before quickly buttoning some of the buttons on my shirt and walking towards the door. I looked back to see my wife hiding behind the bed so I opened the door a crack "This had better be important." I grunted at the terrified guard.

"Mr Davies asked me to tell you that he wants to meet at half one to discuss the interrogation. I'm sorry for any inconvenience, Sir." And then he fled.

"Oh. The joys of being royal." I said, leaning over the bed and kissing the top of America's head.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, your royal Husbandness." She smiled and looked up at me. "I love you."

"I love you too, my dear." I smiled and she frowned before slapping my cheek softly.

"You just ruined a beautiful moment you know."

"We've got decades of beautiful moments to go. Some of which I will ruin and some of which I won't." I laughed and she did too. That was the true beautiful moment.

 **So. There you go guys. Have you read Happily Ever After Yet? I am absolutely in love with it, so happy! Anyway, see you all next time!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Ok, so many apologies. I'm sorry this has been so long but my computer decided to break, then after I had written about 1500 words, it decided to delete it all. So, sorry for the wait. Anyway, here is the chapter, finally.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

"What do you want?" I yelled at the girl locked in the chair. The fact that the rebel was a girl appeared to shock most of the people currently in the room but I wasn't fazed by it. She was still a rebel who had tried to kill me and my husband on the happiest day of our lives, I wouldn't let her off on account of she was a girl.

"And why should I tell you?" She spat back.

"Maybe because I am the one who will decide if you spend your last moments are happy or painful. You have directly attacked myself and my family, and I demand to know why."

"You aren't even Queen. You haven't been coronated, in fact neither has your husband."

"And yet we are still the sovereigns of this country. Now tell me, what do you want?" I moved closer to her face, and she squirmed back slightly in shock before speaking.

"What do you think we want?" She asked, relaxing into her chair.

"The crown." One of the advisors said from behind me. The first time any of them had spoken since we came into the room.

"Ha!" She laughed into my face, I felt Maxon step forwards slightly, ready to jump in to protect me at any moment. "We don't want the crown. We want to get rid of it." She looked past me to Maxon "of your family." She looked back at me. "Here you all are wearing lavish dresses, eating more food in a week than most people have in their lives. How do you cope with it? Especially you. You were one of us, hungry, cold. Now here you are, do you even care anymore?"

"What? You think that killing guards and putting the palace under siege are going to feed people? If you paid attention to the _report_ or had any knowledge of what was going on in this palace you would know that we are working towards removing the castes and setting up food banks and trying to help people." I shook my head at her. "You're lying to us. And I don't have time for time wasters. Or scum like you." I turned to leave, I had gotten all the way to the door before she spoke again.

"I don't know why you're so against us. You want the same things as us, we're practically the same." I whipped my head around and stared her dead in the eye, anger brewing inside me.

"I am nothing like you. I do not kill people, I help them. And if you want to leave this place alive you will not lay a finger on anyone in this palace. Do you understand me?" She stared at me, stunned into silence and nodded once. "Good. Good day to you."

I walked out of the room. How dare she judge me and say I was anything like her, her rebel troupe had hurt so many people, including those I cared about. I thought about Anne, Queen Amberly, Celeste, King Clarkson, all killed at their hands. Then so many more injured and hurt because of them.

I was halfway up the main stairs again when I heard footsteps behind me and then felt two arms around my waist.

"I love you." Maxon whispered into my ear. I felt his hot breath on my neck and smiled.

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

"What are you thinking?" He asked as he removed one arm and moved to the side so we could carry on walking upstairs.

"I think that they're manipulating people, not telling them the full truth, lying to them, to get them on side. I mean, she clearly knew nothing of what had really been going on over the past month or so."

"I agree. In fact, she is going to be educated on what has been going on, with proof, and in two weeks' time we will be back here to see if she can give us any more information on the rebels."

"We'll be back?" I paused, considering the word. "Does that mean that we're going away on honeymoon?" Maxon nodded excitedly and I kissed him fiercely.

"Yep, two weeks of sun, sea and nothing but me and my America." He whispered as he pulled me in and kissed me again. I pulled away quickly and ran up the rest of the stairs towards my room.

"Where are you going?" Maxon yelled after me.

"I have to finish packing."

"We leave in one hour." He said, chuckling and then chased after me. I dove into my room and shut the door with a bang before he could catch me but I could still hear him laughing as he went into his own room.

Mary and Marlee came up after a few minutes but I was already halfway done by that point.

"Ok, what else do I need?" I demanded the moment they walked through the door.

"I doubt you'll need anything for your honeymoon, especially if the rumours of what staff have been interrupting all day are true." Marlee muttered and I threw a pillow at her and glared at her. "So I take it that there true then."

"Ok. I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon right now. I've had a bit of a morning, anyway I'm married now so it's not illegal!" I complained.

Maxon knocked on the door at around five and Mary opened it quickly before dashing back to fold more clothes into my case. I barely even looked up and carried on sorting through my jewellery instead. Soon, I felt his arms around my waist and his hot breath on my neck. He kissed me lightly on the cheek.

"How many necklaces do you think I'll need? Is this one better than this one?" I asked holding up a white pearl necklace in one hand and a string of rubies in the other.

"I'm sure whichever you pick will be just perfect, darling. As soon as you're ready we can leave."

"I'll hurry up then." I whispered, turning round to face him. I kissed him lightly on the lips and then turned back to my box of jewels. I felt Maxon sigh beside me and then walk away, the bed creaked slightly as he sat down on it.

After about five minutes I finally turned away and smiled at him, he raised his eyebrow to ask if I was ready and I nodded back. In a flash he raced over to me and picked me up, one arm under my knees and the other under my neck. I giggled as he raced down the corridors and down the stairs, until he got to the door where he lowered me to a sofa. I sat up and he held out a hand to help me up, which I graciously took.

Maxon led me out into the gardens at the front of the palace and into a white car with a chauffeur leaning against the bonnet. He bowed as we approached and then left to help the butlers carrying cases down the steps at the front door. I leaned my head on Maxon's shoulder and he began softly stroking my hair.

The car purred to a start and I sat up to glimpse the palace one last time for a fortnight. It was a strange feeling, I'd been here just over six months, and yet it was as much of a home to me as my house in Carolina. I'd only known Maxon for those six months, and yet we were closer than any of the people I'd grown up with…including Aspen.

I snuggled back into my husband and felt the car move slightly as we drove down roads, through the city and towards the airport. The windows of the car were blacked out, so no one could see us inside, but I could still see people wave at us as we went past, with huge smiles on their faces. It was hard to believe that we were a beloved king and queen, but we were still attacked more often than anyone wanted to admit.

"Darling, wake up." Maxon whispered, shaking me slightly. I opened my eyes and saw his face melt into a smile.

"Are we here?"

"Yes, my love. We have to get on the plane now." He kissed my forehead and I sat up as he opened the car door and stepped out. He offered his hand and I took it and stood next to him.

A few feet from where we stood was the stairs that led up to a private aeroplane. Gracefully, the two of us ascended the steps, both smiling and holding hands. Maxon nodded to the captain who saluted as we stepped on board and we took our seats at the far left of the plane. I sat first, next to the window, and Maxon sat beside me.

The chairs were utter luxury. I thought that I had become accustomed to the wealth of the crown and the palace, but these seats were white leather and stuffed with something extremely soft. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to sit on a regular chair again. In comparison to this one, the plane I'd come on at the end of August might as well have just been a cardboard box. Everywhere around me there was luxury. From the seats, to the bar that appeared to have several types of wine and spirits underneath it's counter. I could even smell something delicious coming from some form of kitchen that was somewhere on board. I looked back at Maxon who was smiling at me lovingly.

"I love you so much. Thank you for this, for all of this." I whispered as I kissed him firmly.

"For just a plane? You should learn to expect more from the crown." He whispered back as we parted. I began to stroke his cheek with one hand.

"Not just for that. For all of this. For forgiving me when I did the unforgivable. For loving me despite everything. For believing in me even when I don't."

"I love you, I would do anything for you, Ames. I will always believe in you."

"And I will always believe in you." I whispered as I settled into his shoulder again, comfortable by the side of my husband, King of Illèa.

 **There you go! So sorry about the wait again. I'll try and have the next chapter up a bit quicker, it's Maxon and America's honeymoon! Anyway, see you next time.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Quite a fluffy chapter, but enjoy!**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

A tickle on my neck. A slight coldness on my side. These two small things were all it took to wake me from one of the best sleeps I'd had in a long time. I opened my eyes to see bright light coming in from the window in front of me. I rolled over and came less than an inch away from chocolate-brown eyes. I smiled and saw the feeling mirrored back on Maxon's face. I slowly moved one arm around to the back of his neck and stroked his blonde hair.

"Good morning, wife." He whispered, smiling at me.

It was strange that, even though it had been a week since we were married, the word still felt strange, alien. I was Maxon's wife. His one and only love. I wished I'd told him I loved him earlier, we could have been married sooner. Or, if not, we could have at least been together for longer. I felt like I'd known him no time at all but, at the same time, I felt like I'd known him my whole life. I could no longer imagine being anything but Maxon's queen. I couldn't imagine being a Five or a Six even.

"I love you." I whispered back, staring into his eyes.

Maxon moved his arm around my bare back and pulled me closer to him, so close that I could feel the warmth radiating off of him and I could feel every breath on my skin. He kissed me lightly on the lips and then ran his other fingers through my hair. I could tell that he had good intentions, but I ruined it when I laughed at his fingers getting stuck in my bedhead. He let out an exasperated sigh and rolled away, onto his back.

"I try to be romantic…" He grumbled. I reached out an arm and patted his stomach.

"Come on, I'll make you breakfast." I smiled.

"I'd forgotten you could cook." He laughed. "We've been together for seven months, why have I never had your cooking?"

"We live in the palace." I shrugged. "There are teams of people that spend most of the day cooking for us." He still looked slightly sad. "Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. I'll make all of the meals for the rest of our stay, if, you'll help me."

His face lit up and he leaned over me, pinning me to the bed. He left a trail of kisses across my face, neck, every inch of exposed skin that he could find. I giggled as he found my ticklish spots and ran my fingers through his hair. Maxon kissed my stomach and, as he did, it made the loudest noise ever. I prayed he hadn't noticed but, by the fact that he was laughing wildly, I guessed he had.

"Well, time for breakfast." I said, carefully removing Maxon's head from my stomach and gracefully getting up. I slipped my robe on and put my feet in my slippers before walking to the bedroom door. "You coming?" I asked, my hand on the doorknob. He nodded and put his own robe and slippers on before joining me at the door.

Maxon took my hand and led me out down the short corridor to the stairs overlooking the front door. The house was miniscule in comparison to the palace, in terms of both size and grandeur. However, it was wonderfully compact, and yet still double the size of my house in Carolina, and light flooded in through the large windows of the house. Though I would have preferred complete privacy, we still had to have a few guards, three stationed outside the house and a couple in the corridor outside the bedroom. Of course, we also had to have a few guards for changing, so all in all we had around fifteen guards. Though I was adamant that we would take no maids or kitchen staff, that way we can be as much of a normal couple as possible.

I walked into the massive kitchen, pristine, black range cooker on one wall, and a tall silver fridge on the other. Counters with wooden doors and grey marble tops covered the walls that were painted white and the floor was light coloured laminate. I dove into the fridge and brought out a box of eggs and a packet of bacon rashers and moved over to the oven.

"How does bacon and egg sound?" I asked as I opened the packet. "Pass me that frying pan, please?"

"Um, this one?" He asked, holding up a pot.

"No." I laughed and walked over to the rack on the wall. I selected the large frying pan. "This one!"

"Okay…now what do we do?" He asked, slowly joining me at the hob.

"Now, we put the oil in." I poured in some oil. "Turn the knob and then slide this until it clicks and we get a flame." The blue flame soon appeared on in the ring. "Then just add the bacon first." Maxon placed four pieces of bacon in the pan and flinched back as it began sizzling in the oil. "Now we just keep turning it until it's cooked." I picked up the tongs and began to turn the bacon. Maxon moved behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and kissed my neck. "Ok, now it's your turn." I told him, turning round and passing him the tongs.

He didn't move and just seemed to work round me, turning over the bacon every now and again. After about five minutes, I reached over and cracked two eggs into the pan as well, watching as they quickly turned from transparent liquid to pure white. I flipped them over a few times before reaching for the two plates that had been handily left out for us. I served out the food and then walked over to the little table in the conservatory and put the plates down.

"You are looking extremely radiant this morning, my dear." Maxon said, smiling mischievously.

"Don't you start mister."

"Fine, you are beautiful, my darling."

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself, your royal husbandness." I looked down at my breakfast, and suddenly, I wasn't that hungry any more. In fact, the smell of it was making me feel sick. Too sick.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I had been worrying about America, she seemed different. The first week of our honeymoon had been pure bliss. We were both happy, spending time with just each other, not being King and Queen, just Maxon and America, like she always wanted. I have hundreds of pictures on my cameras of white, sandy beaches, lush green forests, and the smiling face of my new wife. Then everything changed, she got ill. She rarely seemed to keep a meal down and she seemed much more tired. She always said she was fine when I asked.

On the last day of our trip we returned to the sandy beaches near our little house. The sun was shining brightly and bouncing off the blue sea. America's red hair was shining all different shades of red and orange as we walked hand-in-hand along the sand. She sighed, about half way down the beach.

"What's wrong, darling." I asked.

"It's just the last bit of peace we're ever going to have. After today, we'll be king and queen again, no more just Max and Mer. No more care free days, we'll have a country to run, rebels to stop, people to look after. I mean just look at next week: we've got that rebel still to finish dealing with, the coronation, and countless meetings. I mean, when are we going to be able to be a couple, in among all of that?" She looked up at me with her big blue eyes, seriously worried, wondering.

"I will not let a day go past that I don't see you, America. You are my wife and everyone else will just have to deal with the fact that we will spend time together as a couple, and a heck of a lot of it if I have my way." She nudged me playfully, however I tripped slightly and ended up sat down in the water.

"Oh god! Are you ok, I'm so sorry." She said through small bursts of slightly controlled giggles. I put out my hand and when she came to help me up I pulled her into the water beside me. "Hey, I was trying to help!" She complained and splashed me with water. Naturally, I splashed her back and she squealed.

"That's what you get for splashing your king!" I laughed. This carried on for a few moments before I couldn't take it anymore and I leaned over and kissed her, holding her back so that she wouldn't fall. I felt her arms behind my neck within milliseconds as she pulled me down towards her. I moved slightly but was still very conscious of the water and, so, tried to pull her up a bit as well.

"Um, your Majesties?" We broke apart at the sound of the voice of a guard. I shot him an agitated glace as a way of asking him what he wanted. "It's just the car's here to take you to the plane." I stood and helped America stand as well. We followed the man back towards the house, both pretending to look as regal as possible and stifling laughter as we went. There was no denying that balancing marriage, family, and a country, was going to be hard. But, I knew that we'd be fine. I mean, we'd gone through so much just to get here! And as we walked back, my wife placed her head on my shoulder and I realised that there was nothing that this world could throw at us that could ever split us up.

 **Read and Review please!**


	30. Chapter 30

**AMERICA'S POV**

"America, can we talk for a moment, I have a secret to tell you. But you have to swear to tell no one." Marlee grabbed my arm and pulled me into my bathroom as I nodded my head.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a whisper, not that anyone was in the rooms nearby and, so, could not hear us.

"I'm pregnant!" She silently shrieked. She was literally jumping up and down with excitement.

"Congrats Marlee." I said, pulling her into a hug. "How far along are you?"

"About three and a half months. I wanted to tell you sooner but I swore to Carter that we'd wait the three months and then you were away so, I'm telling you now."

"You know, we really have to move you out of that room way downstairs. I'll speak to Maxon and we'll get you an old selection room or something where you can stay."

"There's no need, we're fine where we are. You two have done so much for us already." I pressed a finger to her lips.

"We insist." I told her confidently. "As much as I just want to sit and celebrate with you, I have a meeting with a certain rebel and I have to meet Maxon downstairs." I hugged her again before running out of the room.

I walked down the corridors towards the main staircase thinking about Marlee. I was so happy for her, she was going to be a mother, and a great one at that. I stroked my stomach absent-mindedly. I was fairly sure that someone was in there, I felt all the signs that my mother and sister had talked about during their pregnancies, all I needed were the results from the doctor that I was getting later, then I could tell Maxon. I smiled as I turned the corner and found Maxon waiting for me.

"What are you smiling about?" He teased. I wanted to tell him right then about my suspicions but I didn't want to get his hopes up if it was a false alarm.

"Marlee's pregnant." I whispered as we walked down the stairs. He looked slightly disappointed for a moment before smiling brightly again. "Could we give them a room upstairs?"

"Of course. It's highly unlikely we'd ever fill all of the guest rooms anyway so they can definitely have a suite. If that's what they want of course." I smiled at him and took his arm.

We walked slowly down the stairs and into one of the parlours where there were several guard next to the rebel girl who was sat at the table. She had two guards on either side and was smiling slightly (though I couldn't decide if it was an honest or sly smile) as we entered and moved towards the two empty chairs that were opposite the girl. I saw her eyes drop to where our hands were entwined and her smile grew slightly. I couldn't figure this girl out.

The guards bowed and the girl dipped her head slightly but didn't stand as Maxon and I sat down on the plush chairs. I tried to squeeze my hand out of Maxon's but he squeezed it harder and wouldn't let it go.

"Good morning." I said to the girl, smiling at her welcomingly. "How have the past few weeks been?"

"Oh, brilliant, thanks. Your Majesty," She bowed her head dramatically again, there was a definite hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Yeah, enjoyed the food, the warmth. It's a nicer place to be than the camp. But, the lies…no thank you."

"What lies do you think you've been told?" Maxon asked her. The girl's gaze moved from me to my husband.

"The usual propaganda that you've been broadcasting for years. That you are trying to improve the country." She paused. "Though I did hear a new one. I was told that you've made plans to remove the castes!" She laughed.

"Actually, those are true plans. Granted they might take a few years but eventually, we will be casteless." I explained.

"Ha. Who says you'll even be in power by this time next year?" Maxon and I turned to each other stunned, I felt the guards grow tenser as if ready to attack on command if needed. "Think about it. There's only one Schreave left. All that has to happen is for him to die and then who'll be in charge?" She slumped back in her chair.

"I class that as a death threat to the throne of Illèa and no one threatens my family." I shouted as I stood. I stared down at her, anger flowing beneath my eyes. "I wanted to forgive you. I thought that we could be the kind royals that would forgive and forget. But now I see that we need to show exactly what happens to rebels. Take her back to the cells." I spat the last words out as the guards picked her up by the arms and forced her out a door and into the dark corridor. "Wow. Southern rebels are nowhere near as nice as Northern ones." I said to Maxon as I turned to face him. I smiled at him and he stared up at me, looking stunned, happy, and worried.

"Are you ok?" He asked. He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me down to sit in his lap.

"Just worried."

"What's on your mind?"

"What if we have a son and that doesn't stop them?" I started. "What if they attack us until they finally kill us? What if we leave him like your parents did?"

Maxon slowly pulled me closer and placed a kiss just below my ear. "I will never let them harm you, I promise you, my darling. They would never harm you, or our children. I swear to you that I will always be here to protect you all." I turned my head and kissed him lightly. We sat there for a moment before I stood.

"As much as I love you. The Queen of Illèa has an appointment to keep." I winked at him and walked out the room towards the hospital where I was meeting Dr Ashlar.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I watched her skip off excitedly down the corridor and it was at that moment that I realised that I would never fully understand her, no matter how much or for how long I loved her. I walked up the stairs to my study and sat down at the desk, deciding that I should probably go through some of these papers before they completely over-power me.

I was looking over a paper on removing some troops from New Asia when my door flew open and my very happy wife skipped in and quickly kissed me on the cheek.

"To what do I owe the honour of an especially happy wife?" I asked, pulling her down so that she was sat on my lap.

"I just got some news from the doctor-"

"What? Are you ok? Why didn't you tell me you needed to see him?" I rambled desperately and she just laughed at me.

"No, I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine, because we're going to have a baby." I stared at her, wondering if I'd heard her right. Was she really pregnant.

"Really?" She nodded at me, confirming it all.

I picked her up, one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her neck, she giggled as I took her through to the other room and throwing her on the bed. I kissed her longingly as I pinned her down on the bed. I felt her arms around my back as she pulled me towards her. I reached behind her and unlaced the dress at the back and she instantly exhaled heavily.

"I think we're going to need some looser dresses" I said in between kisses.

"I agree." She laughed

I felt her hands move around to my front as she carefully undid my shirt buttons until I finally felt her cold hands on her skin.

"You know you can't get her any more pregnant right?" A voice called from the other side of the room. I looked up quickly and there was Marlee – I should have guessed.

"What are you doing in here?" I demanded. I was slightly angry but also quite embarrassed about what she'd seen and what she'd almost seen.

"I was here first, helping a friend out with some of her work. I figured I'd better say something before you went any further."

"Well then, you might want to leave I'm afraid Marlee." America shouted as she pulled me back down.

We heard the door close and then we both sat up, she placed her head on my shoulder and I slipped my arms around her waist.

"I can't believe we're going to have a family." I whispered.

"I know. We'll get even less privacy than we do now!" she laughed.

"Comes hand in hand with the job, I'm afraid." We sat there in a pleasant silence until it was ended in the worst possible way. The ringing of the rebel alarm.

 **Hi! Sorry it's been so long, but here is the update! Hope you enjoyed it and please review. I'll try and have the next chapter up ASAP. By the way, I've also written a one-shot of an alternative ending of The One that you can read if you want. Thanks, and I'll see you next time!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Ok, hi everyone. I'm kind of struggling for ideas at the moment, I have loads for later on but none for right now so bear with me a bit. Also school and stuff are getting on top of me (though I have just applied to university so don't have to worry about my personal statement anymore, yay) but I'm still trying to write and update as much as I can.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

The siren sounded and Maxon and I looked at each other in fear for several moments before Maxon's protective instincts seemed to kick in and (though I am fairly sure that, though I was not able to speak, I could have walked to the other side of the room myself) he picked me up and ran over to the corner, unlocked the door and stood me up on the steps. Quickly and quietly he shut the door. The emergency lights hadn't kicked in yet and neither of us felt comfortable walking down the stairs in the dark when it was more than likely that we would fall.

"Damn, they're not in here." We heard a hushed voice from the room. Maxon found my hand in the dark and held it tightly.

"Well, where else could they be?" I recognised that voice. Maxon pulled me in closer into his side and wrapped his arms around my waist. "This is the King's suite; we've already checked the Queen's!" He was angry.

"Maybe they've already moved to the safe room.?" Another voice suggested.

"We would have intercepted them if they left the room. Unless…" there was the sound of someone hitting the wall. I flinched and almost fell backwards but Maxon kept tight hold of me "Check the walls, there might be a secret exit." The sound of banging echoed around the corridor. The lights flickered on to a gentle yellow glow and Maxon began to move me down the stairs.

We could still hear the banging as we approached the safe room (though it was growing quieter and quieter) but we stayed in silence just in case.

"Quick, over here. I've found it!" We heard a voice that was not behind a wall shout.

I held Maxon's hand tighter as we sprinted the few meters left towards the main safe room door. Once inside, I ran over to the beds on the other side of the room and Maxon joined me when he was absolutely sure that no one else would be able to get through.

"I think we'll be safe now." He whispered, wrapping his arms around me protectively. "And if not then I'll kill them before I let them get near you and my baby."

"Why do they keep coming?" I whispered exasperatedly.

"I doubt they even know. But they do seem to be getting stronger, their attacks more frequent."

"We need to do something, something big to show that we mean business. To show that we are powerful and they are not. What if we got the people to really show their support for us?"

"Well, yeah, that would be great…but how do you suppose we do that?" He asked. I smiled, I had been thinking about this so I already knew the answer.

"What if we held an election. What if we had a representative from each province that would come and sit with us and tell us the issues in the province? If they felt like they were being listened to and represented, then there may be less rebel attacks." I didn't get a response for my idea as just as I finished we heard banging as someone hit the door.

Without speaking we both jumped up and Maxon dragged me towards a wall on the same side of the room as the door but slightly hidden around a corner.

"Go in there and wait for me. I'll hold them off." He ordered me as he pressed a button and a small opening appeared. I slipped in and turned around to face him, planning to convince him to come in to, but he just smiled and hit the wall again and I saw the wall closing in again.

"No, Maxon please!" I shouted through the ever narrowing gap. He just shook his head.

"I love you!" He said and then there was the thunk of the door closing all the way and I was trapped…again…with no idea of what was going on outside, whether my husband would be ok or anything.

A small light flickered on and I looked around the room. It was one of the barest I'd seen, which surprised me as it was still in the royal safe room, with only a first aid kit, a few cans of food and a thin blanket. I didn't know what to do now, there was nothing I could do except wait.

I sat with my ear next to the door, but couldn't hear a thing, probably should have learned that from last time. I paced the floor but that did nothing to calm my nerves. I wrapped myself in the blanket, but still shivered from fear, the coldness of the predominantly metal room didn't help either. I had no idea what I should be doing. There was no point in trying to leave, I didn't even have a gun with me this time!

I ended up sat huddled in a corner of the room, rocking gently as I tried to understand what was going on.

 _Outside, my husband is fighting off rebels…hopefully. There is a chance that he is dead. There is a chance that I will soon be joining him. The safe room is no longer safe and changes will have to be made for the future. After this attack, there is a chance that I may be ruling alone until my unborn child comes of age._

I prayed to God for the health of Maxon, and for the courage to go on. I wished upon all of the stars in the sky that this would end soon…and happily. I begged the world to not take him from me.

 **Please read and review, I want your thoughts! I know that this was a relatively short chapter but I will try and get the next one up ASAP. Until next time!**


	32. Chapter 32

**AMERICA'S POV**

"The Queen's safe!" A guard called as they slid open the safe room door. I stared at him with a look of anger.

"Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be? I was shut in the safe room away from everyone for hours. I had no clue what was going on, there was no way anyone could get in or that I could get out!" I shouted as I pushed him to the side and walked past him. "Now where is my husband?" I snapped, turning to look at him over my shoulder.

"Up in his room, Your Majesty." He said quietly.

I turned back and walked quickly up the stairs, towards the secret exit. The door itself had been ripped from the wall but it was now concealed by a bookcase that had been placed in front of the opening. There was no way that I would be using that entrance again, no matter what happened. It took all of my strength but I managed to push the bookcase forward just enough for me to squeeze between it and the wall. I stood up straight and looked straight in front of me at the bed where my husband lay. He was fast asleep, and for a moment I considered letting him rest. But that moment didn't last long.

"Maxon Calix Schreave!" I yelled. He woke with a start, sitting up so fast he hit his head on the headboard. A guard rushed in from outside the main doors but I quickly shooed him away and turned back to Maxon. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Good morning to you, too, my darling." He smiled, but I didn't return it and instead just scoffed.

"Don't you dare, ever do that again!"

"What, keep you safe." He laughed slightly, I just shook my head again and walked towards him. As soon as I was close enough he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me onto the bed.

"Leave me worrying in a safe room for God knows how long during a rebel attack. At least stay with me."

"You are the future of this country, you and my child that you're looking after for me." He said softly holding me tighter against him.

"This child won't be born for another eight months, at least. I need you now. And whoever this is is going to need their father. I just want us all to be safe."

"We will be; one day our children will run freely in the corridors without need for worrying about where the nearest safe room is. Until then I want to protect you, I need to be able to. It's the only way." We sat in silence for a moment. "I think you need to sleep for a while, I doubt you rested last night." I nodded and rolled over him, moving underneath the covers. I fell asleep the second that I felt Maxon's arms around me again.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I was glad that she hadn't asked me about the attack. I was in no state to explain to her what had happened in the past hours. It was horrific, we lost so many guards (granted not as many as the rebels did) and I was dreading having to write to all of their families explaining. My advisors had told me that I didn't have to worry about it and that one of them would send a letter and some money to them but…I wanted to do it. They weren't there. None of them were out there fighting with us, none of them watched people fall all around them so that they could protect them.

I looked at her sleeping and when I was sure that she was fast asleep, I removed my arms from around her and rolled over. I sat up and reached over for my crutch. Dr Ashlar had told me to come up when I woke up and now seemed as good a time as any. I kept my weight between my left leg and my arms, allowing my right leg in its cast to stay lifted above the ground.

I hobbled towards the door slowly but fell at the last moment, my crutch slipping on a piece of paper and sending me toppling over onto my right side. I let out a gasp of pain as I landed on my bad leg.

"Maxon?" America whispered, I could almost hear the tears in her voice. I hated her seeing me so weak.

In an instant I felt her arms around me as she helped me stand again and led me back over to lie in the bed. It took longer than in should have for the two of us to hobble back over to the bed but it would have taken even longer if I'd tried to get up and do it all myself. She laid me down and pulled the covers back over me before sitting on the pillow next to my head.

"What happened?" She asked after several moments of silence.

"Rebel tried to shoot me and a guard jumped in front of me, accidently pushing me down the stairs and breaking my leg. He was dead before he could even apologise." Suddenly I felt tears falling down my cheeks but I continued, it felt so good to tell someone exactly what had happened. "Other guards came and eventually managed to get the rebels to leave and then I was found at the bottom of the stairs to the safe rooms after it was all over. I could have died if it wasn't for them and I barely know any of them. I didn't even know his name." America began to softly stroke my cheek but I pushed her hand away. I didn't want sympathy right now. "And now what's being done to them? The family of those who died will get nothing more than a letter and a little bit of money, then they'll remain living in poverty, as well as having lost their sons, brothers, fathers, lovers, whatever. And yet here I stay, with the woman I love, who is giving me a child, safely protected by them and I don't even know their names, and barely do anything to reward them. Well not this time. This time next week I want to invite each and every one of the guards' – dead or alive – families and tell them about the amazing sacrifices they make for this country. I need to stop these rebels before they take any more lives." I finished as my tears turned to anger. These rebels weren't just a nuisance, they were threatening my country, my people, my family and something would definitely be done.

"We'll get them, Maxon. And they will pay. I'll work on plans for the event, but I might be able to do next month much easier than next week, we need to give people time as well. I'll go and get the doctor to take a look at your leg." She rose and walked towards the door.

"Wait. Only let him come if he's free. I'm fine, if he's looking after anyone else then tell him just to come when he's looked after everyone else."

"You're the king, Maxon. You will always take priority, but I'll tell him." She smiled at me and then disappeared around the door.

I hated not being able to move properly, how am I supposed to run a country if I'm going to be pretty much bed-bound for the next month at least? I laid back in bed and I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes I was looking into bright blue ones that were surrounded by bright red hair.

"Maxon, the doctor's here to have a quick look at your leg. I'm going to help you sit up." She told me and, despite protestations, grabbed me beneath the arms and helped me to sit up with my legs hanging over the bed, both touching the floor. Then America sat beside me and held my hand tightly to remind me that we were in this together, and I was so glad that we were.

 **There you go! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!**


	33. Chapter 33

**AMERICA'S POV**

The month passed in a whir of planning and meetings. Maxon's wish for the ceremony to commemorate the guards was happening in a matter of days, and it was going to be perfect. Each night I shared the plans I'd made and asked for his opinion on them, he didn't seem all that interested but he was just stressed. He was having to do all his normal work, including going to meetings, along with having a leg that he can't walk on properly.

"Hey." I started, looking between two menus for the ceremony. Maxon grunted slightly in response. "Do you prefer sausage rolls or pigs in blankets?"

"Doesn't matter." He said quietly, I went on trying to get him to speak properly to me.

"They were both favourites when I was growing up, they had them at almost every party we went to. Sometimes I used to sneak a few home for May and-"

"It doesn't matter, America." He shouted, staring hard at me across the room.

"Maxon, what's wrong?" I asked, standing up and walking over to him. As I approached he slammed a big book over the top of the papers and glared at me.

"It's nothing to do with you! Why don't you get back to your pointless worrying about what food you're going to serve at your pointless party." He turned his back on me, I was glad that he couldn't see the hurt in my eyes.

"It was your idea, Maxon. You're the one who came up with the idea for this big ceremony and party, and I fully supported it. Just like I always have and always will." I said the last part softly, trying to calm him down, it didn't work.

"So you were supporting me when you refused to speak to me for weeks because of what happened to Marlee? Or, perhaps, you were supporting me when you suggested removing the castes in front of the whole country, giving my father just the fuel he needed to whip me harder than he ever had before? And the whole time, you were still with your 'ex' boyfriend."

I could feel his hot breath on my face, contrasting with the cold tears I felt falling down my face. There was a twinge in my stomach. I stormed from the room and into the corridor before he could see my full breakdown that I could feel coming. The door shut with a satisfactory bang and I ran down past the doors, praying that no one would see me this vulnerable.

Eventually I came to the women's room. I hadn't been in for a while but nothing much had changed, except for the white grand piano I'd had put in here. I know that I had a music room but this was different, this was the room where I might entertain guests, it would be easier in here. Also, it meant that no one would come in and disturb me.

I laid down on the sofa by the window and stared up at the ceiling, tears still falling quickly down my face. _I've made some huge mistakes._ I thought to myself. _Maxon was an idiot to choose me._ I stared out of the window into the darkness of the night. The stars illuminated the gardens just enough for me to spot our bench. It was of little comfort to me tonight, but still it helped to relax me slightly and I somehow managed to fall asleep.

It was just starting to get light when I woke up, the sky had turned a beautiful shade of orange, I stared at it for a moment before sitting up. My blue dress from yesterday was creased after having laid in it all night; my orange hair had mostly all fallen out of the bun I'd had it in and pins covered the spot where my head had been. I tried to scoop them up quickly, but as I stood I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I dropped the few pins I'd managed to pick up as I gasped in pain. But it soon passed so I recollected the pins and trudged back upstairs towards my room. I had to get ready, regardless of how things were with Maxon and I.

"Where have you been?" Marlee shouted as I walked through the door.

"Fell asleep in the women's room." I mumbled as I walked over to the mirror and sat down.

"Why were you in there?" Mary asked, coming over and brushing my hair.

"I happen to be a woman; why shouldn't I be in the women's room?" I snapped. Apparently this had been enough because my maids did my hair, make-up and dressed me in silence.

"We'll leave you here to wait for Maxon, he won't be long." Marlee said softly and then they all left the room.

I stayed sat at the mirror. My red hair was up in a bun, exposing my golden twirls of earrings dangling down. I wore my father's bird necklace around my neck that matched the light blue floor length, straight dress that I wore. I had the bracelets that Maxon had given me during the selection on and the sight of them brought me close to tears again, as I remembered how much he loved me.

"Oh, good. I heard that you'd disappeared this morning but I'm glad that you decided to come and perform your duties. Come on then." Maxon was at the door, still not looking at me. I stood and walked over to him. He rolled his eyes. He still had a crutch under his right shoulder, though his cast had been covered by his trousers.

"What have I done to offend you so much, Maxon? Everything was perfect a month ago when I told you about the baby, what have I done since then?" I hissed as we walked down the corridor. Maxon said nothing, took my arm and walked us down to the great hall where the ceremony was being held.

At the other end of the hall was a raised white platform with two thrones to the right of the stage. Maxon and I had decided last week that we wouldn't wear crowns today so that we could show that it wasn't about us but was about the guards. To add to this, we also entered the hall with everyone else and headed to our seats, the only thing we couldn't remove was the use of thrones.

Maxon placed his crutch leaning against the chair as we sat down and watched the hustle and bustle as everyone sat down on the tables all around the room. I was surprised how many people fitted in the hall, there must have been a few hundred people or more in here as each guard had invited their family to join in the festivities. I spotted Magda waving madly in one corner, along with the rest of the Ledger family and Lucy, she was beaming at me so I smiled and gave a small wave back.

Maxon stood to start and took my hand, but as I tried to stand I buckled at the pain in my stomach and let go of his hand.

"Stand up, America." The pain subsided and I managed to stand but I was now overcome with the fear that something was wrong. I smiled at him and helped him move towards the microphone podium, which he promptly put both hands on for support. I took a step back and looked at him, trying to concentrate on what he was saying.

"My lovely wife and I have invited you all here today to commemorate the bravery…" what if something was wrong with the baby? "and to remember those that have fallen in order to protect the royal family." I felt another stabbing pain and gasped, Maxon looked around but when I smiled he turned back to the front. "We feel that it is necessary to reward these…" I couldn't concentrate on his speech anymore. The pain kept coming back and I was starting to feel as though I couldn't stand any longer. Slowly, I shuffled backwards towards the chair so that if I did pass out I would simply fall onto the chair rather than disgracing myself by falling onto the floor. The room started spinning and my hand went out and grabbed onto the chair behind me. Shaking, and hardly able to breathe, I tried to steady myself but failed. I started to hear a ringing in my ears that was gaining volume so that I almost didn't hear the gasp from some of the audience, as Maxon turned so I could see his face – which now held fear and concern rather than hatred – before the world around me descended into darkness.

 **Oh dear. What's going to happen next? Drop me a review and we'll find out soon!**


	34. Chapter 34

**AMERICA'S POV**

"Confusion in the palace yesterday as Queen America collapsed during King Maxon's speech. A spokesperson from the palace refused to give comment, claiming it was 'none of our business'. There is nothing left for us to do but hope she makes a full recovery…" A strange voice was saying. My eyelids fluttered open to see images of the palace and the great room on a tiny television on the wall, I was in the hospital wing.

"Oh shut up!" A voice complained to my left and then the television turned silent. I felt someone grip my left hand and I squeezed it back, turning my head to the side to see Maxon sat beside me on the bed. His eyes looked red, as if he had been crying, or hadn't slept, or both.

"Maxon, what happened." I said in a croaky voice.

"My love, I'm so sorry for everything that happened. I hope you can forgive me." Slowly, he reached over and kissed my forehead.

"Maxon, please just tell me what happened."

"You collapsed, half-onto the chair. I wouldn't have realised if I hadn't seen everyone else looking straight past me at you, when they gasped and looked worried I had to turn around but by that point you were pretty much down. I told everyone to stay and enjoy the party, passed over to Ledger to give out the medals and picked you up before anyone else could." He paused and looked away.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered. "The doctor said that you would have been getting pains all day. I know that I shouted at you, and I shouldn't have but, you still should have said something to me." Suddenly realisation hit me and I feared I understood what Maxon was talking about

"Do you mean…" I couldn't finish it but he nodded.

"Our first child is gone." He whispered and I instantly burst out crying, collapsing on his shoulder. He held me tightly and I felt wet on the back of my head as he cried too, both of us crying for the death of the child we never knew.

 **MAXON'S POV**

I felt terrible. I blamed myself for what happened, I'd treated America awfully the past few weeks, it was no wonder that she had gotten so stressed that…

I'm glad that we did something to reward the soldiers and `guards for their services, I just wish I hadn't let myself get so stressed over it all being perfect, I should have recognised that there was something wrong with America ages ago. I definitely shouldn't have taken it all out on my love.

I spent the next couple of days in meetings, I was glad for the distraction but my mind kept wandering to the miscarriage. Was it my fault? Was it my genetics? It was no secret that my parents had struggled with getting pregnant and my mother had suffered many miscarriages, I just never thought that I would.

"Your Majesty?" Johnson, one of my new advisors asked me. I had no idea what he was talking about, maybe something to do with tonight's report?

"Sorry, could you repeat that for me?" I asked. He sighed at me.

"What do we tell the country about the health of the Queen?" He asked, frustratedly.

"There is nothing wrong with my wife." I answered protectively. I could see all of the advisors around the table starting to get annoyed with me.

"The whole country saw her pass out on television." Harrison said slowly.

"Then we tell them she was dehydrated, or something."

"I agree." Johnson was backing me up. "We can't tell them the real reason, the rebels might see it as a way in if they think the King and Queen can't have children." I was annoyed at the way he suggested that we might not be able to.

"You know as well as I do that there is nothing physically wrong with either of us. We did the tests!" I was near shouting point, however managed to calm myself down. "Now can we please drop it and move on, it's not exactly something I want to discuss at the moment."

"Actually, that was the last order of business." Someone said, I didn't care who.

"Great. Then I'll see you gentlemen in a few hours for _The Report_." I stood, along with everyone else and left.

I walked straight down the stairs and into America's suite, hoping to see my wife for the first time in a few days when we are both awake. However, when I got to the room I saw no one. There wasn't even Marlee or one of the other maids wandering about doing anything. I thought it was strange, and so walked through to my room, thinking she may be in there. Still no sign of her. And then I spotted it, a white envelope lying on my pillow.

 **Sorry it's a short one this time but I'll try and have the next one up soon. Thank you for all my reviews (Please review this chapter, too) and** **I'll see you all soon.**


	35. Chapter 35

**AMERICA'S POV**

People had been tiptoeing around me ever since it happened. I had had very little contact with anyone as no one seemed to say more than 'are you ok?'. What was I even supposed to say to that? How could I be ok after losing my child before I'd even met them. I had a life inside me last week, and now it's gone! If I nodded then they'd leave me alone, generally with a tray of food that I didn't feel like eating.

I spent a lot of time on the balcony, breathing in the fresh air and staring out at the gardens. Dr Ashlar said it was a good thing to have more fresh air and said that it might help me to recover. Silvia, on the other hand, thought I had neglected my duties for too long (apparently I wasn't allowed more than a few days to recover from my miscarriage).

What annoyed me most about Silvia was her sudden change in opinion over the necessity to have children. When we told her I was pregnant, as my advisor we had to tell her early on, she told me it was the most important thing I would do for my country and that I was 'fulfilling my role as Queen'. Obviously, that thought was not making me feel good about myself at the moment, the idea that I was no longer fulfilling my role.

However, Silvia did not think it would be good to shut up about it for more than a few minutes. No, she thought that she would tell me every time she visited that there would be 'other children' and that we could try again. I don't think she saw how much all of that upset me, at least…I hope she didn't see it, or else she was purposely trying to upset me.

After giving me two days to grieve, Silvia started me off 'easily' allowing me to simply reply to the letters that I had been sent. Once again, I think she had no idea that what she was giving me was going to be as upsetting for me as it was.

 _How could you do that to him? Maxon has recently lost his parents and now he's lost his child as well? You are a despicable human being who does not deserve the love of such a wonderful person._

The first letter I opened read, I was horrified and opened the next, thinking it must just be some cruel idiot with no idea what was really going on.

 _Seriously? You can't even carry a child? How do you expect to run a country? Maybe we should get a new queen, one that can actually fulfil her duties. Maybe Kriss Ambers is still available!_

And who had leaked my miscarriage? I thought that we were just going to say I was ill…

 _You know, the best way for you to actually do the country some good would be to leave and let someone who knows what they're doing take over._

After several letters each including similar statements I gave up. There were tears falling down my face as I realised what a horrible human I was. When I realised how much Maxon was hurting right now, because of me. I tore one of the unopened letters in frustration and saw that someone had sent me an envelope with black soot that now covered the light pink dress I was wearing.

I stormed back through to my room to change. When I walked past the mirror I stopped and looked at myself. _Who do I think I am_? I thought to myself. Why did I ever kid myself I could do this when clearly I can't, I've always known it somewhere inside of me. _I can't do this anymore!_ I thought to myself and ran through to my wardrobe.

I began tearing through the clothes that filled the walls until I finally found it. My backpack with the clothes I wore when I came here. I quickly put on the white shirt and black leggings and sat straight back down at the mirror and removed my smudged make-up. I put my hair up in a loose bun and walked back out to the balcony. Quickly I rounded up the letters that were now scattered on the floor and stuffed them into an empty envelope that wasn't too shredded. I grabbed some of my own paper and scribbled: _When it's raining you'll find me on the roof_ on a sheet and stuffed it inside as well. I wrote Maxon's name on the front of the envelope and ran through to his room to place it on his bed.

Though the letters would probably be a good enough reason, I wanted something that came from me to give him too. I picked up some more paper, my pen and headed up to the roof. Maxon would be in his meetings for another hour or so, and even then he might not have time to come back to the suites, so I would have plenty of time to write my letter so that that would be all he would find of me.

I sat perched on the edge of the roof, my legs dangling over the gardens below. It seemed right that it should end here where, in many ways, it started. I thought fondly of the time Maxon had brought me up here, it was when I'd realised I loved him. And it was because of his love that I had to do this.

I had written my letter quickly and it was shorter than I'd wanted but it still explained how I was feeling enough so that he would understand and wouldn't blame himself. After all, it's my fault, not his. I read through the letter one last time to make sure it was perfect.

 _Dearest Maxon,_

 _I'm sorry._

 _Today I realised just how much I'd ruined your life. In the few months that we have known each other I have shouted at you, hit you, lied to you, cheated on you, had you whipped by your father, blown royal secrets that I shouldn't have even known, hurt you, and – worst of all – I've killed your first child._

 _After being told by many people that I have ruined your life and probably the country, I have decided that this is the best way for you to get everything you deserve; a family, a good Queen. By the time you read this it will all be over and you will be able to carry on with your life._

 _Please remember me as the girl who loved strawberry tarts, and as the girl who loved you so much that she gave her life so that you could be happy. Marry whoever will make you happy and stay well for as long as you can. You are an amazing King, Maxon._

 _Yours Lovingly,_

 _America_

I wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall so that I could see the words on the page. It had to be perfect. After all, this was going to be the thing that I left behind.

I stood. My hair being blown backwards by the gusts of wind. I felt tears blowing off me face as well, leaving behind dampness that would remain forever. I was doing the right thing, wasn't I? With me gone then Maxon would be free to marry someone who could have children and my family would be safer, not being related to a queen. I trusted that Maxon would look after them, at least until they found their feet again.

"America?" I turned at the sound of his voice as Maxon ran through the doors, out of breath as if he'd been running.

"Maxon… I was going to just leave this here and be on my way. But perhaps it's better that I give it to you in person." I handed over the envelope and left a lingering touch on his hand as I moved across the roof. I didn't want him here for this.

"America, what are you doing?

"Please Maxon. It's for the best. You know it too. Just let me do this one thing for you and then get on with your life. It's all explained in my letter." I turned back and stared down at the ground.

"No. America, please. I am begging you. I promise, It's all going to be ok. Just come back inside, please?" I hesitated.

"What if I can't do it." I whispered. I felt his hand touch my shoulder and flinched slightly.

"What can't you do? You're America Schreave. You can do whatever you want."

"What if I can't have children! What if I can't be a good queen? What if one day we wake up and everyone has realised that you'd be better off with anyone else than me?" I turned and stared at him through the tears that were falling fast down my face.

Suddenly I felt his arms around my waist as he carefully dragged me away from the wall and towards the door. I clung to him and quickly began sobbing on his shoulder.

"America, why do you always do this?" He kissed the top of my head softly. "You won my heart before the selection even began." He placed his finger under my chin and tilted my head up so that I was looking into his brown eyes. "Ignore what those idiots think, they don't know me, they don't know you. They don't know how much worse my world would be without you in it." He softly began stroking my cheek and brushing away the tears that had fallen. "You are the one that I chose. And I chose you for two reasons: I love you more than anything else in this world, and because I knew you would be a great queen. As for worrying about not being able to have a family, my parents had two miscarriages before me and after me, too. And we're young. Everything will be just fine." He kissed me softly. "Now will you please come back inside."

"Can we just sit up here, away from it all for a while." I whispered, praying he would say yes, I wasn't ready to face that mountain of hate again.

"Ok. I am yours America. As your husband it is my job to protect you and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from this pain." He carefully put me down on the floor and held me close to him.

"I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry that I couldn't cope, I'm sorry that I fell apart, and-" He silenced me with a soft kiss.

"Shh, dear. It's all ok now. It's all going to be just fine." After sobbing for several minutes more in the arms of my husband, I felt the world drifting away from me as, for the first time in days, I fell asleep.

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please drop me a review and have a great Christmas/Hanukah/Diwali/New Year/whatever else you may celebrate and I'll see you all soon!**


	36. Chapter 36

**So this is quite a fluffy Maxerica chapter. Sorry it was a bit longer than I planned, but please read, review, and I'll try to post another one soon.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

Maxon and I stayed huddled on the roof for most of the night; his shoulder was covered in wet stains from my tears as he wouldn't let me move away. Instead he held me to him as tightly as he could manage, as if he never wanted to let me go. Eventually we both seemed to fall asleep as I woke to the sound of Maxon's soft, calming breath and the steady beat of his heart on my chest.

Slowly and carefully I wriggled out from his grasp, I looked back to check he was still asleep and when I saw that he was I walked over to the edge of the roof once more. I leant over the little wall and stared out at the Angeles skyline. It was dark now, illuminating the blocks of flats and huge skyscrapers; the little lights allowing people's homes to twinkle like the stars in the sky. The part of Carolina that I lived in was nowhere near the size of the city, nor was it anywhere near as bright.

Above the city, the moon shone brightly, basking the city in an almost eerie white glow. For anyone out now, the white moon mingled with the yellow glow from people's homes would be the only sources of light, and something told me that, despite Illèan curfew, I was not the only one out of bed.

I watched as the city slowly got darker as people went off to their comfy beds, saying goodnight to their families and preparing for the next day. Some would have had to have gone to bed hours ago in order to get up in time for the early shifts of post men and other such jobs. Others would not long have been home, returning just before curfew, and would now be saying goodnight to their children who may not have seen them all day. They all seemed to want someone perfect to lead them and someone who did not face the little troubles that they faced every day.

Suddenly, it struck me that only a few hours previously I had actually considered killing myself for these people who probably have had similar personal troubles to my own. I want to be perfect for these people so much that I almost gave them my life. And yet, they all get to go on living their own lives with no idea how close their letters almost came to ending mine. I envied them for that, they didn't have to worry about their impact like we did. If I make a decision, even if it's just what flowers to have at a party, it could effect a trade agreement or a peace treaty, something that will greatly affect the country and each and every one of the people that right now live comfortably in their homes, judging me for something beyond anyone's control.

"What are you thinking about?" I whipped around at the sound of my husband's soft voice in its half-asleep state.

"Nothing." I smiled and shook my head slightly. Maxon stood and wrapped his arms around me.

"I love you, you know." He whispered into my ear as he slowly kissed my neck.

"I know, and I love you too. And I promise, I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon." I turned and pulled his face towards mine so that our lips met. I decided in that moment that no matter what anyone said, I would stay for as long as Maxon still loved me

"How do I look?" I asked turning to Mary who had just walked through the door carrying my dress for tonight's report in a garment bag.

"Beautiful, Your Majesty." She smiled.

"America." I corrected her. I hated people referring to me as Your Highness when in an informal setting.

"America." She repeated in a mocking tone from the safety of my walk-in-wardrobe.

As soon as Amy finished pinning up the last wisps of hair, I thanked her and walked through to the wardrobe to see a beautiful pale blue dress just visible through a gap in the bag. Before I could say a thing it was out of the bag and Mary was pulling it over my head, making adjustments to it by lacing up the back. Finally, I was allowed to look in the mirror and see the dress properly. It was a floor-length dress that had a corset-style top and went out slightly for the skirt. It was simple, yet beautiful. My hair was up in a tight bun and Mary carefully placed a silver tiara with blue gems that matched my dress perfectly.

"Mary, how you manage to make me look so good every day I'll never know." I giggled and she just shook her head.

I walked back through to my bedroom and saw Marlee sat knitting on one of the chairs by the window. The sight of her ever growing stomach almost made me cry but I turned away to see Maxon stood in the doorway. He quickly enveloped me in a hug, as if he knew I was on the verge of tears.

"It'll happen for us, too. I know it." He whispered softly into my ear. I nodded.

Maxon clasped hold of my hand and we waved goodnight to the girls before walking down the recording room hand-in-hand. Once outside of my room, he pulled me closer towards him and moved his hand from mine and placed it on my waist. In return, I half leant into him, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

We sat in the chairs that were next to each other on the right-hand side of the stage, they were a little further away than I would have liked but I was fairly sure that they were also closer together than normal.

The lights dimmed and the national anthem began to play across the, now, silent stage. As the lights began to come up, Maxon stood and walked powerfully over to the podium in the centre of the stage.

"Good evening Illèa. Before I pass over to my advisors who have important messages for you, I would like to give a few of my own. First of all, I would like to announce the new 'council of the people' who will be voted for by all of you, one from each province, that will meet with me once a week to discuss any issues that you feel need raising. The election will be held in two months and the results will be read out in the report immediately following. Anyone is welcome to stand for election, all they must do is collect, fill in, and return a form that is available at your local Illèan council offices." Maxon turned, looked at me, smiled and then turned back.

"Second, I would like to remind you all that letters that are sent to the palace are first read by the staff in the post room and that only appropriate letters are passed on to my wife or myself. We have recently had reports of several cases of attacks on our private lives and recent _issues_ we have faced." I heard him hesitating on the word 'issue' not wanting to use that word to describe losing our unborn child but not wanting to use any other word either. "I wish to tell you that if you are found to be sending such letters to any member of the family it will be seen as treason and offenders will be treated accordingly. Thank you, I will now pass over to my team to bring you the latest news." He bowed his head slightly and walked back to his seat.

When I was sure that the cameras were focused elsewhere on the stage I reached over, grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you." I mouthed and he smiled.

After the report we walked back upstairs together and walked straight across the bedroom towards the balcony. From here, we could see everything. The twinkling lights of the city, the bench where we met, the woods that surrounded the palace on two sides, every part of our journey seemed to be in our sight right now.

Maxon led me across and we sat on the loveseat at the edge of the balcony. I curled up next to him and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me…ever. I need you America, I don't care what any of those people say. I don't care what anyone may think of you. You are perfect and you better not ever change. Promise me that you'll be here until the end of time, right next to me, shouting at me but loving me, too."

"Maxon, I'll be here for as long as you'll have me. For as long as you can deal with me, I'll be here and if you ever think I'll stop telling you when you're being an idiot then you're sadly mistaken." I teased and kissed him lightly on the lips.

As I pulled away, Maxon pulled me straight back down joining us together once more as he forced me to lie on top of him, feeling his heart beat against mine and his lips hot against my own.

 **Sooo? Leave me a review please and I'll see you all next time**


	37. Chapter 37

**Sorry it's been so long, I kind of got into writing my own novel but I'll try and make time to write more for this one too!**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

"Mom, I'm fine, I swear nothing has happened." I was trying to comfort my mother who was convinced that someone was sending me some serious hate-mail. Yes, it was kind of true, but I hated it when she worried.

"Are you sure? Do you need me to come stay for a week or so?" I smiled, my mother was very protective of me, more so now than when I was just a five. Before I could say anything to her, there was a piercing alarm.

"Mom, I've got to go, but I'll call you later, I promise." I rushed.

"America wait-"I quickly put down the phone despite her protestations, I wasn't sure if she had heard the alarm but, either way, she probably knew what was going on.

Since Maxon addressed the people about the letters two months ago we had had an attack a few times a week. It was awful, I practically lived down in the safe room; I was actually thinking about putting all of my stuff down there and moving in. I ran to my bookshelf in my study and pushed the book entitled 'how to stay calm in a crisis' and the bookshelf moved forward. I fell through the gap, closed the door and pressed a button that sealed the door with a metal sheet. Since the rebels had managed to get through the doors last time, some had been moved and all had been reinforced with these metal sheets that were supposed to make them impossible to get through, though I was unsure if that was true and I sure as hell didn't want to find out. I ran down a short corridor and then down the stairs. Before I knew it, I was in the safe room once more.

This part was the worst part, Maxon was probably up in the meeting room, which was much further than my bedroom, and so I always had to wait for him. I felt tense and couldn't settle anywhere so I always ended up pacing around the room. After what felt like an hour, but had probably only been a few minutes I heard footsteps and saw a flash of blond hair as the door opened and I ran into my husband's arms.

He held me tight as the door closed and I felt his breathing slow slightly, though I could still feel his heart beating fast on top of my own, clearly he'd been just as worried about me as I had about him.

"Thank Goodness you're safe. I practically ran down here." He whispered into my hair.

"You always make me wait, I wish you didn't." We both sighed as I pulled away and moved over to sit on the couch that against the wall next to the door. "So what's it about this time, do you think?" I asked in an exasperated manner. I was so fed up of these attacks, I wished they'd just leave us alone and get on with their lives, don't they have their own families and things to do other than attacking us.

"They want us to stop removing the castes as that would mean that there would be too much fluidity between people for when they take over." He said, clearly thinking that it was as idiotic as I did. "Any ideas on what to do?" He looked hopeful.

"Remove the castes." I said immediately. "I'm not giving in to some rebels."

"And let them keep attacking us in the meantime." He looked longingly into my eyes for a few seconds and then looked away, putting his head in his hands. "I don't like the idea that you're not safe in your own home. This isn't how it should be." He shook his head, I rubbed his back as a form of comfort.

"America, we need to discuss something, and I want you to listen to me before you say anything." He told me looking up and begging me with his eyes. I nodded. "I'm joining the army. Just for a few months" he quickly added when he saw my look of annoyance and disapproval. "I need to help end one of these wars and I can't do that from in here. I need to be out there, how can they follow me if I can't do it myself?" He was looking at his hands that he had in his lap. I reached over and took one.

"I understand. I can't say that I want you to go and I would certainly rather you stayed here with me but…I understand that this is something you need to do. But, you would have to promise me you would stay safe and write to me every day." I begged him.

"Only if you promise to write back." He whispered as he put his other hand on top of mine.

We stayed in the safe room for hours, chatting, working, doing anything to stay sane while the palace is probably ripped to shreds. Every time either of us thought we heard the tiniest noise, we would both instantly turn to the door, pleading that it would be a guard that would tell us that the palace was once again safe. Finally, that moment came when I spotted dark hair and green eyes appearing around the doorframe as the metal door swung open.

"Aspen?" I asked, smiling. I hugged him quickly. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few moments before they attacked, I did the best I could but it's difficult with a cane." He said softly, twisting his cane in his hand, looking down at it ashamedly.

"If the rebels are gone and my wife is safe, then you've done your job." Maxon said, placing an arm around my waist. Aspen smiled and nodded his head at him before leading us out down the dark tunnels that surrounded the main safe room.

"So how are things going, I hear that there's been a lot of pressure for a royal birth by the end of the year." He said. I looked at Maxon who was looking back at me, I would tell him, I thought, but I still wished he hadn't brought it up.

"Well, there's nothing on that front at the moment, but I plan to change that." Maxon winked at me and I felt myself blush, so I elbowed him in the ribs.

Finally, we came out into the bright entrance hall of the palace, I had to blink a few times before my eyes readjusted.

"So, where's Lucy?" I asked, it seemed strange that they'd been separated.

"Oh, she's still at home."

"As in Carolina? With your mum and brothers and sisters." Aspen nodded, beaming proudly.

"She said she wanted to get to know them without me and knew that I needed to be here, she sends her love and hopes to come at the end of the week, if that's ok?" He added at the last minute, like there was a chance it wouldn't be.

"Of course, you and Lucy are welcome here any time." I looked over and saw Maxon nodding as well. Their relationship still baffled me slightly but I was glad that they could have a good friendship as well. "I hate to go but I'd better go ring my mother back, she'll be beside herself." I hugged Aspen one more time, kissed Maxon on the cheek and then hurried off back to my study.

It was a mess. There were still a couple of maids trying to move the worst of the rubbish that the rebels had left behind, books had been thrown off the shelf, pages torn out. When I entered, the maids quickly curtsied but then got straight back to work. I picked my way through the mess towards the desk and sat down. I reached for the phone and was extremely grateful to discover that it was still working. I quickly dialled my mother who answered on the first ring.

"Hello, America? Are you ok?" She said very quickly.

"Mom, I'm fine. I'm perfectly safe here." I tried to sound calm, but I wasn't sure if I was totally managing as I was still a little bit shaken up by the sheer number of these attacks.

"And May? Did you find her?"

"What?" I almost screamed down the phone. Since when was May here, was she ok?

"She came to see you, I tried to tell you but you left. Oh, America do you think she's ok?" I shook my head out of shock. How could this be happening?

"I'll go do some investigating and ring you back. I'll be back as soon as possible. I'm almost certain she's fine." I said calmly, trying to reassure both my mother and myself.

"Ok, stay safe and I'll speak to you both later." I nodded.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you, too." I put the phone down again and sped back through the corridor upstairs towards the hospital wing. I had to find her, and surely she would have been brought here if she'd managed to get into one of the safe rooms.

"May?" I called out as I entered the busy hospital wing. A couple of maids looked up but no one said anything. After a quick scout that didn't reveal my sister's fiery hair I turned and exited the way I came. I raced down the stairs towards the entrance hall, praying that Maxon and Aspen would still be there, scanning the faces of everyone I passed.

"Maxon, Aspen?" I called out when I got to the top of the stairs that would lead towards the floor but neither replied. I sighed and headed towards Maxon's study, praying they'd be there.

When I finally reached the door, I pushed it open and saw a two shocked faces look up from the desk. I noticed Maxon quickly put something under a book before he stood to embrace me.

"Darling, what's wrong?" He asked as I sobbed slightly into his shoulder, gently stroking my hair.

"I can't find May." Through my tear filled eyes I saw Aspen stand and approach us. "Mom said that she came to say hi, but then the rebels attacked. I've checked the hospital wing, but she's not there." I started to sob again, Maxon held me tighter.

"I'm sure that they just haven't found her in the safe rooms yet. We'll find her, I promise." He kissed the top of my head and I let myself believe him, even if my mind was jumping to the worst conclusions possible.

 **Sorry again that it's been so long but I'll try not to be so long next time. I have loads of ideas for another fic, so keep your eyes peeled for me posting that one, if I get round to it. Either way, I'll try to neglect this one less. Please review! X**


	38. Chapter 38

**Hi! I'm back. Sorry it's been so long, stress, exams, college, life etc. just kept getting in the way. Ok, so I think this story is coming to an end soon but I'm going to start another fic about their children (NOTHING like the heir). I already have plans for it as well as a few ideas for another fics. Please enjoy this chapter!**

 **Ok, just to remind you all, in the last chapter Maxon talked about maybe going away with the army for a while and this chapter is happening about 8 months after he left. Enjoy!**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

The pains began in the middle of the night. I hadn't been able to sleep properly since Maxon left, and the huge bump that had slowly developed over the past months. Currently, I could only lie on my back and even this was painful. As I spent most of my time in bed anyway, after Dr Ashlar refused to let me do anything strenuous, my lack of sleep was ok and didn't affect me all that much. Still, I had entered the closest thing to sleep I could achieve when I was rudely awakened by a twinge. At first I thought I was making it up. At least twice before I had gone to doctor Ashlar only to be informed that it was fake labour. I shook my head and laid back down.

Again! Almost as soon as I was almost asleep I sat up in crippling pain as another twinge made an appearance. Something was different about this time. This was it. I pressed a buzzer that had been installed into my bedside table that rang a bell in Dr Ashlar's office. Hopefully he would be here soon. I stood and turned on my light. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked like a mess. I was glad that Maxon wasn't here to see me like this, but I still wished he was here to help me get through it.

The door burst open and Dr Ashlar made an appearance.

"On the bed please, my Queen." He sighed. I wasn't strictly supposed to be moving since I was already past my due date and he was definitely cross with me because I was. Everyone was very protective over the baby, however they did have reason to, I had already had a miscarriage and this baby would be their next ruler-whatever its gender may be.

"The good news is that things seem to be moving, it's for real this time. Shall we call your mother?" He asked after a few moments.

"Please. Maxon didn't come home in the night did he?" I asked hopefully, I hadn't been able to contact him for the entirety of his service, which may have meant that he didn't know about the baby.

"I promise Your Majesty, you will be the first to know when we hear anything from him. He's expected home in the next few days." He left to call my mother, and two nurses came in to help me move down to the hospital wing where we had decided I would have the baby, just in case.

I just got sat down on the bed when my mother came rushing in and stood by my side, grabbing my hand.

"Ok, we can do this. We just need to stay calm. Calm down America!" She told me, squeezing my hand ever tighter.

"Mom, calm yourself. I am calm. It's not like you don't know what to do, you've had five and you've helped Kenna. We can do this." I tried to reassure her. I let go of her hand for a brief moment before grabbing it again as a contraction came. I screamed and the nurses came running back in.

This carried on for hours, I don't even know how long it was, the pain came and went until I finally heard the cries of my first born child followed by the babe being carefully placed in my arms.

"Congratulations your Majesty, you have a son."

I looked down at his little face and saw Maxon's brown eyes with wisps of red hair. I felt tears running down my cheeks and splashing slightly on his. I lifted him up slowly and kissed his forehead.

"He's beautiful darling." My mother whispered, leaning down to stroke his face for herself, as if she didn't quite believe that this was true, not that I did either. How was any of this possible?

Slowly the room began to empty until there was only my mother, perched on the bed beside me, my son, still being cradled in my arms, and of course myself.

"What are you going to call him." My mother said so softly that I could only just hear her in my ear.

"Well, we never really discussed it but…I thought Shalom, for dad, Shalom Clarkson Schreave." I breathed, rocking him in my arms as he slept.

"He would have loved that. Prince Shalom, future King of Illèa." I smiled. We both sat in silence for a moment. "I'll let you get some rest, it's been a long night, or morning, or whatever time it is now." She chuckled. "I'll put Shalom Clarkson in his cot and I'll come back later." She eased him out of my arms and he gurgled slightly before quieting down again as he was lowered into the blue blankets of the small cot in the corner of the room. She waved from the door and then left, leaving me alone.

I quickly fell into a deep sleep. I dreamed of so many things that they all seemed to blur into one. I dreamed that Maxon was here with me, I dreamed that he was dead in a ditch in New Asia. I dreamed of Maxon and I watching our son growing up to have lots of brothers and siblings and one day becoming a great king, I also dreamed of him being stolen by someone, rebels, anyone.

My eyes flew open at the sound of my baby making a small cry, I looked over at him and saw that my nightmare had become my reality as someone stood holding my son. My first instinct was to scream but I swallowed it in fear that frightening him may make him drop my son accidently, or worse, purposefully hurt him.

Silently, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to where the two stood. I was a few meters away when I spotted it. First it was the small tear on top of my son's head, then it was the chocolate brown eyes that they came from, then the blond hair that I had missed so much over the past months.

"Maxon?" I whispered, feeling tears welling up in my own eyes at the sound of his name.

"Just a second baby boy, I have to say something to your mother and I don't want you to get squished." He whispered almost inaudibly before kissing him on the head and putting him back among the blankets. Then he turned to me. "America." He beamed, despite the shine in his eyes from the fresh tears.

In two strides he enveloped me in an embrace, holding me tighter than I thought possible and yet it seemed right. A moment later our lips met and all seemed right with the world.

"So what's his name?" He whispered against my lips.

"I thought Shalom Clarkson Schreave, but I'm open to suggestions. I know we haven't really had any time to discuss it." I laughed.

"I love it. And I didn't even know I was going to be a father until I walked through the palace doors an hour ago to be greeted by maids, butlers, and guards. No America. It wasn't until a maid congratulated me and I asked that I found out." He took my hand and we walked towards Shalom.

"I wrote and wrote. I called. I did everything I could but…"

"Yeah, I know. I tried too. Really bad communication out there. I'm glad that my eight-month service finished today though. Can you imagine if I'd had a couple of months left? Just come home to get greeted by a toddler running around the place." He laughed and moved his hands to wrap around my waist. We stood in silence and watched our son sleeping in his bed. Nothing could ruin this.

 **Yay! Finally finished this chapter! I am so so sorry that it has taken so long. Life got in the way** **. Also, I think that this fic is coming to an end and I am going to write a fic about the Maxerica children but can't decide if I should just add them as chapters to this fic or start a new one. Which would you prefer? Please review** **I'll try and update soon.**


	39. Chapter 39

**OK, SO SORRY THAT I'VE BEEN AWAY SO LONG. I'VE GOT NO EXCUSE EXCEPT LIFE WAS GETTING IN THE WAY. MY LAST CHAPTER SEEMED TO GIVE CONFUSION BECAUSE I THOUGHT I'D POSTED A CHAPTER WHEN I HADN'T AND NOW I CAN'T FIND SAID CHAPTER OR REMEMBER WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN OTHER THAN MAY WAS FOUND SAFELY AND MAXON LEFT FOR THE WAR. ANYWAY, IF YOU ALL REMEMBER WAY BACK IN THE LAST CHAPTER AMERICA GAVE BIRTH TO A SON AND MAXON CAME HOME. HE WAS CALLED SHALOM-CLARKSON. ANYWAY ENJOY THE CHAPTER.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I woke with a start, looking into Maxon's brown eyes. He had clearly just woken too and was confused as to why. We stared at each other for a moment before we both seemed to hear the shrill cries of Shalom coming from the foot at the bed. I leapt out of bed and brought him up into my arms shushing him. I sat down on the bed as I rocked him and felt Maxon's hand on my shoulder as he watched our son as well. His little blue eyes looked right up at us, and he seemed to smile as Maxon stroked his blond hair. Shalom was the perfect mix of the two of us, with Maxon's hair and my eyes his parentage was more than clear.

"He's perfect, my darling." Maxon whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the babe in my arms.

"One cannot help being born into perfection. And with us as parents, could you expect any less?" I giggled quietly as Shalom yawned and his eyes slowly drooped closed.

"I'm in no way surprised." He smiled and we were silent for a moment before there was a knock at the door and Aspen came storming in.

"Good morning, lots to do today." He started

"Aspen!" I hissed as Shalom whimpered before settling down again. I kissed him on the forehead and placed him in his cot as Maxon led Aspen through to his office. "Mummy has to go and talk to Daddy and Uncle Aspen, but if you need me I'll be right back." I whispered and gave him his little blue blanket to snuggle into. He was so cute that I didn't know how I could ever leave him, but he would be fine and I would only be next door. I kissed his forehead again and after one last glance at the doorway, I walked through to the office leaving the door slightly ajar so that I could hear his cries if necessary.

In this room the atmosphere was much more tense as Maxon poured himself a small drink in the corner – something he nearly always did during really stressful meetings – and Aspen was stood behind him quietly but animatedly talking to him. I cleared my throat and both turned to look at me with fake smiles plastered on their faces.

"Don't start that." I warned them folding my arms. "I know that something is going on and you both know how much I hate secrets." They both turned to look at each other for a long moment before Maxon gave a slight nod and all three of us sat on the couches in one corner of the room. Maxon and me on the two-seater and Aspen on the chair. Maxon still held his crystal glass, with a small amount of brown whiskey in the bottom, so tightly I was worried he would break it.

"Ok," Aspen started. "As you both should be aware, today you will be presenting your son to the country on a special report." We both nodded. At two weeks old it was now Illèan tradition that he be presented and the report seemed like a good way of doing that. "But, the PR department that deals with your image is being pestered by magazines for you to take him outside for part of it and meet the people outside the palace." This seemed confusing as this seems perfectly reasonable and something I would be extremely willing to do. My confusion must have shown on my face as Aspen explained to me why this was a bad thing. "This is bad because we have not had time to do a recce to make sure it's safe and we know that crowd control is going to be difficult so it is highly possible for someone to slip through the cracks." It was clear that by someone, he meant a rebel and then I realised why this could be a bad idea. If we were out of the palace then we were immediately less safe, and the prospect of being able to remove all the king, queen, and heir in one go would be too good an opportunity for the rebels to miss out on. Considering the amount of effort they put into attacking us at home when we are surrounded by hundreds of guards and thick walls, with safe rooms to run to, and how many people they still managed to take out, I dreaded to think what they could do to us if we were exposed.

"So we don't do it then. They'll just have to understand that it's just too dangerous. Maybe we'll be able to when things have calmed down a bit out there." I proposed but Aspen shook his head.

"Sadly it's not quite as simple as that, my love." Maxon said softly. "We can't show fear and we don't want to become distanced from our people especially now." Now I truly saw the conundrum. There was literally no right answer. We sat in silence for what felt like hours but was probably only a few moments.

"The balcony." I said suddenly and the other two turned to look at me. "A compromise, we take him out onto the balcony and show him to the country before doing a studio show with him. Will that tick all the boxes?" I asked. Both of them considered it for a moment.

"Well, it's the best idea we've got." Aspen sighed and stood. "I'll talk to the General and the PR team and we should be ready for a few hours' time, you two should go and get ready." He left and I realised that I was still in my nightie and Maxon was wearing pyjama bottoms and his deep blue dressing gown. Not the best attire for a meeting but what can be expected when Aspen comes in at seven in the morning.

"Come, my love. We need to get ready to present our son."

An hour later I was sat in my bedroom cradling a screaming prince who as refusing to feed, had had his nappy changed, and had very comfort we could provide for him. And yet, he screamed and screamed. He had me, Mary, Marlee, Amy, Lucy, and my mother all trying to calm him, nothing seemed to help, an hour and a half and he was going to be on television, and here I was still in my dressing gown.

"We've fed him, burped him, changed him, cuddled him. Is there anything else we can do?" Marlee asked banging her head against the wall in one corner of the room.

"I've only been a mother for two weeks, you tell me, or better yet the veteran that is my mother. How did you cope with five of these?" I tried to laugh but I really wanted to join in the crying as I had a headache and was very stressed about how much preparation I had left to do before the presentation.

"He'll quieten when you put him down America, put Shalom in his cot and go and get ready. He'll be fine, I promise." My mother told me looking right in my eye and patting my shoulder. I trusted my mother so I nodded and carefully placed a still crying Shalom in his cot and watched him as I was ushered away by everyone except my mother who would tell me if anything as seriously wrong.

From inside my dressing room, Shalom's cries were less and after a few minutes I could still hear them but so vaguely that I was certain that my mother had been right, not that I ever doubted a woman who had had five babies including myself.

The girls could definitely tell my anxiety from being separated from Shalom even by something as simple as a wooden door and a wall, but they worked quickly, making me look like a mother and a queen and before I knew it the transformation was complete. I wore a dark blue floor-length gown with full sleeves that silhouetted my figure, not so tightly that my baby fat showed. My hair was up in a large bun and a sparkly tiara had been placed within the hair so that it was stable enough. I quickly thanked the girls and ran through to the main room where my son was now sleeping soundly. I wanted to pick him up and cuddle him and hold him close, but I knew that disturbing him right now would not help matters, he could sleep for now and I would cuddle him later.

"Fifteen minutes to go!" Shouted the director as we settled onto a couch by the big French doors that would soon be opened so that we could walk out onto the balcony. Maxon wore a tie the same colour as my dress which matched the tiny tie that Shalom wore on his tiny suit (not too tight of course). We looked like a true family.

Speaking of family, mine was visiting for the event and were currently crowded round us cooing at the baby. James stood at the back holding little Astra, who had grown a lot since I last saw her, with Gerard beside him, not too worried about seeing a baby.

"Singers. If you could please move through to the parlour we are about to begin." After the final coos and waves the large door closed leaving Maxon, Shalom, and I alone except for the crew members that were still about, ready to record this moment.

The doors opened and a huge crowd that had been let into the grounds roared. The cheers were deafening. I thought Shalom might start crying but he opened his eyes and stared out at the people. He definitely had the Schreave charm with the people. Maxon put one arm around me and waved with the other whilst we both smiled. I would have waved as well but I needed to support the baby.

There were white flashes all over photograph after photograph was taken, we would definitely be on the front page of the country's magazines by tomorrow morning. After a few minutes we headed back inside and straight down to the recording room to film a special report about our son.

"Good afternoon Illèa!" Gavril shouted as we walked in and walked straight to sit on the couch that had been set up opposite the chair that Gavril was already sat in, waiting for us. "and good evening your majesties. And your highness." He added and we all laughed slightly at the use of this to refer to my son. "How is family life?"

"Tiring." I said without thinking. "He cries in the middle of the night when we've had a long day, he's sick on clothes just before an important meeting. He's just like anyone else."

"We love it though. He's a brilliant little boy and we can't wait to see what he's like when he grows up. He'll be a great Prince and an even better King." Maxon continued.

"Certainly, if he's being trained by you, your highness."

After a while the director yelled cut and we were free to go. Maxon and I walked back to our suit, with him holding the baby, who was now sleeping, in his arms. We walked in silence back up to the room, exhausted by the long day we had. Maxon placed Shalom back in his cot and then the two of us walked out onto the balcony where two plates were waiting on the table: chicken and potatoes. The sun was setting, bathing the scene in oranges, reds, and purples as Maxon and I sat eating.

"What a day." I sighed, pushing my knife and fork together on the plate and leaning back in my chair. "How many more like that are we going to have?"

"Well, that depends." Maxon paused, calculating something. "Every day until we die?" He laughed. "We'll have time to be a real family as well, I promise." Maxon took my hand and kissed it, I smiled slightly. He always knew just what to say to make me feel better. "We better get to bed, there's another day ahead of us." Maxon whispered and we walked hand-in-hand to get ready for bed and prepare for tomorrow.

 **WELL, THERE YOU GO. I WILL TRY TO UPDATE NEXT WEEK IF POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME! -CHESCAANNIE X**


	40. Chapter 40

**I'm still her…see. Ok, so I had a request in the reviews for a fluffy chapter (plus I do like writing fluff chapters) so here it is. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy! X**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

Maxon and I had managed to set ourselves into a good little routine with Shalom (which he sometimes even followed!) which seemed to mostly include getting no sleep and the small amount of time we had together always seemed to be interrupted by Shalom crying. In fact, all of our time together was also spent with Shalom. Not that either of us were complaining! We loved him; he was our baby. But, most the time we spent with him seemed to be when he was sleeping or crying. As soon as Dr Ashlar had deemed me fit enough mentally, I was back at work with a cot placed in the corner of my room for him to sleep in whilst I worked. On the one hand, this was a good thing as I couldn't bear to be away from him for more than a few minutes, but it annoyed many of my visitors as I required hushed voices at all times inside the office and so no disputes could take place.

As a general rule, this left me to deal with the simpler things, for example menus and event planning and Maxon had to deal with the advisors, although sometimes their shouts still disturbed Shalom- but I tried not to mention it, Maxon definitely had more than enough to worry about without adding in the noise level.

I tried my best to do my part, but I could barely bare to be away from Shalom for the time it took me to go to the bathroom, the chances of me being able to last a full meeting – which often took hours – without lactating or pining for Shalom, was almost zero. Anyway, Dr Ashlar had warned me to not to involve myself in anything too stressful for the time being.

Still, I did my part by forcing Maxon to recount every detail of every meeting at meal times and when we went to bed. We came to conclusions about issues together and I liked to think that he appreciated the support I was giving him, even if I couldn't do it in person at the meetings.

Today, I collapsed into my chair in my study after putting Shalom down in his cot and opened my diary. Today was clear (which was strange as every day for the past week had been full from about nine in the morning until the early evening) except for one thing. It just said gardens, and was underlined about five times. I recognised the handwriting almost instantly and smiled. He'd cleared the day to spend more time with Shal and I.

I picked up Shalom and held him close to my body as I walked down the stairs towards the garden door on the ground floor where a beautiful black and silver pram was waiting, ready made with blue blankets and a teddy bear. I carefully placed him inside it and covered him with the little blanket before pushing it out of the door which two guards had opened. Without thinking about it, I knew where I was going and headed towards mine and Maxon's bench. I sat down, waiting for him, slowly rocking the pram with one hand and anxiously looking at the door for Maxon.

"Hello." I turned at the sound of the voice and smiled up at my husband. He leant down and kissed me firmly before straightening up and offering me his arm. I took it with both of my arms and Maxon slowly pushed the pram with his free one.

"This reminds me of the Selection." I laughed.

"I think we must have been part of different selections, see I never had a baby and a beautiful wife in mine." He chuckled, sending me a confused glance.

"No, walking around the gardens on your arm. I feel like we did it more then than we have done since."

"We've done other things." He whispered in my ear, making me blush and giggle slightly. "Or do you not remember how we got the baby?"

"Maxon, stop." I laughed. But he didn't, he began kissing my neck and he removed his hand from the pram to fully embrace me and kiss me properly. My hands ended up around his ears as I pulled him closer into me, I needed him, I felt like I'd missed him, missed this side of our relationship that we hadn't had time for recently.

A cry from the pram stopped us and we broke apart, both looking at Shalom who was wailing.

"That's his hunger cry." I sighed. "He feeds about once an hour." I lifted the baby up and lifted the top of my shirt to allow him to feed. We'd found that a shirt and skirt was about one hundred times easier for feeding at the moment. In a strange way, I longed for the dresses I used to despise.

"That's amazing." Maxon said, sounding bewildered. "I know you're everything I need, but it seems like you're everything he needs too." He smiled, but still looked a little sad.

"Not true, he needs you just as much as he needs me." I said quickly. "He is quietest when you change him. And I know that he loves his late night cuddles with his daddy because he shuts up straight away." I smiled.

Maxon embraced the two of us as Shalom finished his feed, I carefully placed him back in the pram, and we resumed our walk, this time walking hand in hand. I used my free hand to touch all the flowers and bushes that grew hear, the prickle of the thorns on the roses felt good beneath my calloused fingers.

"You know what I just realised?" I started, tearing myself away from the plants to look at my husband. "This is Shalom's first walk in the gardens. I hope he loves it out here as much as I do."

"As much as we do, my dear, I met you out here, and I will love them forever for giving you to me." He kissed me on the cheek and I blushed again. "I like to think that in nineteen years, Shalom will meet the love of HIS life out here too."

"No, no, no." I shook my head. "You aren't marrying my baby off that quickly, maybe in ninety years?" I laughed.

"Shalom Clarkson Schreave is your mother ever going to let you grow up." He asked, leaning into the pram and retrieving the baby whom he held close to his body. I shook my head.

We wandered around the gardens for another hour or so before heading inside for lunch. We decided to sit upstairs on the balcony of our room to eat so that we could enjoy the glorious sunshine whilst Shalom slept in his cot inside. After lunch, Maxon asked Marlee to watch the baby and he pulled me down the stairs (begrudgingly but after many promises that he would be sleeping and probably wouldn't even notice that we were gone).

He pulled me into a parlour on the first floor and sat me down on a sofa, which he then sat on as well.

"We need to talk." He said softly, taking one of my hands.

"What about?" I gave him a smile but could tell that something serious was happening, although I was fairly confident that it had nothing to do with our relationship.

"Children." I breathed a sigh of relief. It could have been so much worse. "I know you want more, and so do I but what about when they all grow up? Traditionally girls have been married off too other countries but neither of us want that."

"Surely they can grow up and move out or stay in the palace – whatever they want." I dismissed it.

"And for a job? We'll be training Shalom but what about the others, what will they do with their lives?"

"Follow their dreams." I answered immediately. "We're getting rid of the castes; they can do whatever they want to do. One could be a teacher, another a musician, a King, or whatever else their dreams are filled with at night." I leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around me.

"So when do we get to start on the next little dreamer?" Maxon whispered into my ear. I laughed.

"Not until Shalom is a little older." I warned, but something told me that having a baby wasn't Maxon's only ambition for the rest of the night…

 **Yay! Ok, that was a really fluffy chapter, will try and do something a little different next time. I'm starting to get back into this fic! BTW, any potterheads please check out my other fic Lily Evans and The Marauders! Until next time, please review. – Chescaannie x**


	41. Chapter 41

**Sorry for my disappearance but I am back and will try to update more often. Hope you enjoy it – please review.**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

Date night hadn't gone very well. It had been Maxon's idea to make sure we still had some time together in between being king and queen, and being parents. However, it was strange – we hadn't been on a date in months. Even during the Selection, we would usually go for a walk in the gardens or something but the nights were too dark and cold to do that anymore. Maxon floated the idea of going down to the cinema but that was never really for us either.

Now that we were together properly, i.e. married with a family, it was hard for us to be romantic no matter how hard we tried. In fact, it was as if we were both trying too hard! Tonight Maxon had laid out a picnic in one of the conservatories with flowers all over the room and a blanket to sit on in the middle. I'm not going to lie, it was beautiful when we sat on the blanket with the lights off and simply stared into the dark sky with the stars shining. It was amazing how much Maxon knew about them, pointing out Mars and several constellations, but it somehow didn't feel right.

It didn't hit me until much later on, when we were lying in bed next to each other, that I figured out what it was.

"Max." I whispered. I could hear his breathing was still a little irregular so I knew he wasn't asleep but his speech was still slightly slurred, suggesting that he had almost been there.

"Mer." He grunted.

"I know what's wrong with us," I said quickly. "And better, I know how to fix it." He rolled over and looked at me. I stared into his brown eyes, there was no denying the fact that I loved him, that thought had never even crossed my mind.

"We can't be just a couple anymore because we aren't. We're parents now so we need to do more as a family. I spend pretty much all of my time with Shalom and you barely see him, then we have a date night once a week. What if we had family night as well? I know he can't play board games or anything just yet but…I don't know, put a kid's film on and cuddle together on the sofa or something. What do you think?"

"Mer, like all of your ideas, I think it's great." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "but I still think we need more time together." He kissed me again, his lips getting a little hungrier. "I know you don't want another one yet." His kissed moved down my neck. "But we are going to have baby number two sometime soon." It wasn't a question. It was a decision. One that I agreed with. I wasn't planning on getting pregnant that night but we knew that when Shalom moved into a bed, his baby sibling would be moving into his cot.

The next day was the normal hectic blur of royal life. We had the Italians coming over in a couple of weeks and, although we had a pretty good relationship with Nicoletta, her parents still seemed unsure about an alliance with Illèa, especially with Maxon and I being so young without Maxon's parents to guide us. Nicoletta was doing everything she could to convince them that we were great rulers and that if we built an alliance it would be an asset to both of our countries, but everything had to be perfect for them coming so they had no reason to refuse us.

Somehow, it got to three in the afternoon and I had a screaming three-month-old carefully balanced between my arm and my stomach and a screaming woman on the phone who was telling me that I hadn't booked any cars to pick up the Italians and they would all be busy on that day. If you had told me two years ago that I would say the next sentence that came out of my mouth I would have laughed in your face and asked what you had been drinking.

"Well, I'm the queen of Illèa so I think you'll find that you will get three cars to the airport on the 27th at two o' clock." She went quiet.

"I apologise your majesty, no one mentioned to me who you were." In her defence I had just spoken to someone much lower down on the pecking order before being told that he was going to get his supervisor – you'd have thought he would have told her who I was.

"Can you get it done then?"

"Yes your majesty. We had previously set three cars aside for you."

"Thank you. Now that we have that sorted I can feed your future king." I put the phone down and sighed. I unbuttoned my top and it took Shalom about three seconds to stop crying to begin his feed. I leaned back in my chair. There was so much in my life I wouldn't have thought possible just two years ago.

I was going to be a six! Yes I would have had to do a lot more manual labour than I was currently doing but at least when I got home that would be it. These dignitaries seemed to run on their own schedule and so they never apologised for waking all three of us up at two in the morning simply to ask if their rooms would have big enough wardrobes for their dresses. And, since we are king and queen, we can't ask them to ring back in a few hours, so we get up and go and measure the damned wardrobes before we can go back to sleep. I remember thinking that the royals were lazy and did nothing all day – boy was I wrong.

I looked up and suddenly noticed that Maxon was stood just inside my study and was watching me with a small smile on his face. I smiled back and soon felt an arm around me as he perched on the arm of the chair beside me. He kissed my hair and I smiled again. I honestly wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world – I loved my boys more than I ever thought possible.

We sat in silence for a while until Shalom had finished and was beginning to slowly fall asleep. I stood up and placed him in his cot in the bedroom before coming back through to the study. I closed the bedroom door as quietly as I could and then wrapped myself in my husband's arms. He was warm, safe, and perfect.

"How long were you stood there?" I asked.

"Let's just say that I heard you play the royal card to get your way." He chuckled and kissed the top of my head again whilst I scowled playfully.

"They didn't know who I was! They weren't going to send any cars to get the Italians and I think that could be a deal breaker." I laughed at the stupidity of the whole situation, the whole fact that it was partly on me to make sure that the country stayed afloat.

"It's going to be great, Mer. You were networking with the Italians before during the Selection! You got closer to an alliance, without even being royal, than my father managed in a lifetime." Maxon told me rubbing my shoulder blade soothingly with his palm.

"I love you Max. I don't say this enough, but thank you. Thank you for choosing me, for forgiving me over and over again." Maxon pulled me into a tighter embrace so that my head was on his chest and his chin rested on the top of my head.

"Darling, I never chose you. My choice was made for me before the Selection even started, when you just needed to go outside, how could I choose anyone else after meeting you. As for forgiving you," he sighed happily, "I love you, there is nothing that you could do that I wouldn't forgive." Tears rolled down my cheek, hitting his crisp white shirt beside me.

"Ok, I don't know if it's just the post-baby hormones, or what, but I love you so much Maxon. I can't imagine my life without you."

Maxon had to go back to his own work soon after that. I liked those moments better than our date nights for one simple reason: they were real. It's much nicer to be chosen by someone who had a moment to do anything they wanted and they chose to spend it with you. I didn't see him again until that evening when we sat on the large patio-style balcony eating dinner. By this time, it was half past eight and I was starving so we barely spoke as I wolfed down my meal.

We ended the day the same way we ended most days: saying goodnight to Shalom in his nursery and then going to bed together which was certainly the best way to end any day.

 **There you go! Hope you enjoyed it, please drop me a review regardless I'd love to hear what you all think! It's not just you I've been neglecting but my other story** _ **Lily Evans and the Marauders**_ **will be getting updated ASAP and I am hopefully going to get onto a better weekly update schedule so good luck me! – Chescaannie x**


	42. Chapter 42

**Yo! Told yous I'd be back** **. Hope you enjoy this chapter – please read and review xxx**

 **AMERICA'S POV**

I can't really remember the time between waking up and getting to the toilet, but I know it must have existed because I ended up sat at the white, porcelain bowl with a slight shiver underneath my thin night dress.

"America?" Maxon called. I hadn't meant to wake him and had hoped he'd sleep through it. He was going to catch on soon – I'd been sick every morning this week and was fairly sure I knew why, but I didn't want to tell him anything until my appointment that afternoon.

"Um. I'm fine!" I shouted back before throwing up into the toilet. "Don't come in!" I called as Maxon turned the knob and walked in. I sighed as his gaze fell upon me in a highly unattractive, and unladylike, position bent over the toilet.

"What's wrong, Darling?" Concern flooded his face and he soon had his arms wrapped around my shoulders in an embrace that was keeping a little of the chill off of me. How could he still love me when I looked like this?

"I've booked an appointment with Dr Ashlar for this afternoon. I'll tell you after that." I smiled and moved to stand. However, I stood up too quickly and the room began to spin, causing me to fall back into Maxon's arms.

"Come on. You're going back to bed. I'll see if the doctor can come and see you sooner but you aren't to leave this bed until he says it's ok." Maxon carried me back through and placed me on the bed, covering me in the thick duvet. "I'll come and check on you in a few hours. And don't worry about Shalom, I'm sure I can find someone in this palace to look after the future king!" He chuckled to himself before kissing me lightly on the forehead and then walking out the room to find the doctor, get dressed and then begin his day at work. Why did I ever think that the royals did nothing all day? Sometimes I thought he was busier than the sixes and sevens who had always seemed to do anything.

I soon fell asleep again for a short while, although it can't have been for more than an hour by the looks of the sun when Dr Ashlar walked into the room with his briefcase of medical equipment.

"Sorry if I disturbed you, your majesty, but King Maxon asked me to come and see you as soon as possible." He closed the door behind him and moved to shut the curtains on the far wall. He flicked a switch so that the room was filled with unnatural light that would also keep out prying eyes.

"Based on why _you_ asked to see me, I have a feeling we both know what's going on." Before I could comment, he continued. "Don't worry, I have said nothing to Maxon, I assumed you would tell him when we are sure and you are ready."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"So the test is very quick and accurate so if you can just provide me with a urine sample." I nodded.

A couple of minutes later, I was once again sat on the bed again awaiting the results of the test, he handed me the small stick and allowed me to turn it over myself to reveal the two small blue lines to reveal that I was, in fact pregnant.

"It's positive." Dr Ashlar smiled. "By the way, your Majesty, I'm fairly sure I can hear someone waiting outside who will probably kill me if I don't tell him he can check on you himself soon, so I shall leave you to reveal the news to him."

"Thank you Doctor."

"It's my pleasure, your majesty." He bowed and left the room. The door hadn't even closed when Maxon came in and took the doctor's place. He rushed to the bedside and clasped my hand. He looked worried and I was fairly sure that Dr Ashlar was right – if I didn't tell him what was going on then both the doctor and I would be living very uncomfortable lives.

"Maxon." I smiled, with tears in my eyes and he sat next to me. He embraced me quickly and I used this as a way to tell him. "I'm pregnant." I whispered into his ear. "We're going to have another baby."

Maxon turned slightly and kissed my cheek, slowly working his way round to my mouth when he began to slowly kiss me. His kisses soon became hungrier and he pulled me closer into him.

"You know, Maxon." I said in between kisses, "I can't get pregnant again until this one's been born."

There was a knock at the door as our usual interruption and with one last long kiss, Maxon left the room again. He glanced back at me before the door closed and blew me a kiss. "I'll see you at dinner." He called.

I slowly stood up and dressed myself into one of my more relaxing day dresses. It was light blue in colour, knee-length, and – most importantly – involved no corset, just a simple zip on the back. I walked through to Shalom's nursery to relieve Marlee and Mary, whom Maxon had apparently enlisted to baby sit.

"Are you ok?" Asked Marlee as I picked up my baby from his cot.

"I'm absolutely perfect." I answered, and it was true.

Shalom was finally down for a nap when Maxon finally returned for dinner. We had taken to just eating in our room – what was the point in using the dining room which had once served almost forty people for only two of us? We sat out on the balcony and looked out over the gardens which were beautiful in the setting sun.

"So, I have news – a proposition." Maxon told me as he pulled my chair out. "We have the Italians coming for a week the day after tomorrow – as you probably know." It was a little bit of a joke. Of course I knew – I'd been planning this for about a month and Nicoletta and I were still pretty good friends. "But once they leave we're going to New Asia for a couple of weeks to properly sort out an alliance and a trade deal. So we can have proper peace in the country."

"Ok, that all sounds great. Why do you sound so worried about it?"

"Because, chances are they are going to want one of their children to marry one of ours to make it official. So, we have three options: say no outright and risk the alliance, agree to Shalom marrying one of the king's daughters which would obviously mean him not having a selection, or announce that we are having another child and essentially marry them off before we even know if it's a girl or a boy."

"I see the predicament." I paused, considering the best way to phrase it. "My heart says no. I want all of our children to marry for love – not for some alliance or even because of some tradition like the selection. It worked for us – yes – but what if Shalom doesn't love any of the girls in his? And I really want to keep this pregnancy between me, you, and the doctor for a while yet – especially with the trouble we had during my first." Pain filled my brain with the thought of my first pregnancy almost a year and a half ago. "Regardless, it seems wrong to marry off an unborn child."

"I agree." I was surprised by his agreement with me, I expected him to talk about the importance of tradition and alliances. And it was normal for royal children (especially princesses) who weren't the heir to be married off to forge alliances. "We were lucky. I almost sent you home in the first week, and then goodness knows what would have happened." Neither of us mentioned the high chance that he would have married Kriss. "No one would have been as good for me as you. And how can I send either of my children off to marry a complete stranger when neither of them are old enough to even have memories or comprehend the power and importance that they have." He paused. "Anyway, it's just a possibility, one that may not even happen as King Li's youngest has just turned twelve which is a big age gap. Chances are it won't even happen, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page before we left. How are preparations for the Italians coming, anyway?" And with that change of topic I told him all about my plans and designs for parties and room arrangements, meetings and activities planning so we could all get to know each other a little better. From the sounds of things, Maxon and I would have achieved more alliances within the first two years of our rule than his father had managed in his thirty-year reign.

 **Whoop. Please review and tell me if you would prefer more fluff or more drama – I have plans for either and both. See you next time – Chescaannie xx**


	43. Chapter 43

**I've read so much fanfiction I can't remember what's cannon and what's not. Maybe this is a sign I should re read the books again… Oh well ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter, please review!**

"So, have you ever been to New Asia before?" Nicoletta asked me, I don't know why. For seventeen years I could barely afford a trip to the other side of town, never mind the other side of the world, and for the past two I had barely had time to leave the palace. It seems strange, you can apparently either have time, or money. Not both – and some people have neither.

"No. Have you?" She laughed.

"But, of course! But then again I have been princess for a very long time! I'm sure you'll charm them like you did your king." I laughed at that.

"I insulted Maxon the first time we met and attacked him the second. I don't think I should try those techniques on the Emperor and Empress of New Asia."

"No, probably not. How about you get them to give you money so that some rebels can overthrow your government. They would probably like that!" She teased.

"Ok, I think we have discovered that my charms should not be what we pin our hopes for peace and a new alliance on."

"Hey, worked on me. And whatever you did to that boy, it worked. He dotes on you, still. It's as if he's still hoping to woo you or something."

"Ok, you've had far too much wine. I'm cutting you off." I covered her glass with my hand as a butler made to refill her sixth empty glass of white wine.

"You're no fun!" She pouted.

"I need to go and speak to your parents for a bit, but I'll catch you later?"

"That makes you sound so old. Such a shame you didn't get time to enjoy being a princess." She winked and then walked off.

We had thrown an elaborate party for the Italians coming which had put them in great spirits, they did like a good party after all. Although Nicoletta was the future Queen of Italy, her parents were the current rulers and Nic wouldn't have any real power until she was married and her parents allowed them to rule. As such, Maxon and I needed to speak to Isabella and Antonio in order to stand any chance of the alliance we needed.

Maxon was already stood with the regal king and queen. I could feel the fear from across the room and so carefully walked over and slipped my hand in his. Instantly, I felt his confidence increase.

"May I introduce my lovely wife, America?" It was strange to be presented like this but that's what happened to royals, I suppose.

"Queen Isabella, King Antonio, pleasure to meet you both at last." I curtseyed.

"I was just telling our guests about our plans to dissolve the castes."

"It's a wonderful plan. When do you propose to start?

"We were actually hoping to merge the sevens and eights in the new year and the rest is to follow over the next ten years or so." I explained.

"It is great to see that you too are already working to change things that have been stagnant for as long as anyone can remember." Antonio smiled. "Our daughter is very taken with you, with the pair of you. And my wife and I have been talking, Nicki will soon be queen and we need to trust her decisions. We would like to discuss an alliance between our countries if you are free tomorrow morning before we leave."

"Of course." Maxon answered, calm and strong.

We danced a few times after that, I danced three times with Maxon, twice with Antonio, and then once with a drunk Nicoletta, before we all headed off to our respective bedrooms. I went through to the nursery to check on Shalom and found him sound asleep in his cot. I kissed his head lightly and he stretched his little hand out but didn't wake.

I walked back through to the bedroom and found Maxon fast asleep on top of the bed, still dressed in his suit from the party. I decided to change into my nightdress in the bathroom quickly before I went to bed. I came back through and found him still asleep. Whilst a large part of me didn't want to disturb him, a larger part of me wanted to make sure he was comfortable. Therefore, I carefully removed his jacket and belt – causing him to stir but not wake and then took a blanket from the cupboard. I covered him in the blanket and then crawled onto the bed myself, underneath the blanket and embraced him. Even in his sleep (or at most his semi-conscious state) he rolled slightly more onto his right side and embraced me back.

We both woke up at the same moment as one of the maids threw open the curtains of the room at about seven o' clock.

"Your meeting with the Italians is at eight o' clock in the throne room. We have prepared a table and chairs to accommodate you all and breakfast shall be served during the meeting." A butler told us from the door. "Good morning, Your Majesties." He nodded and then he and the maid left the room again.

"Come on, we have to get up." I said softly, to which there was no reply. "Max, come on." I hit him lightly.

"Ten more minutes." He muttered into his pillow.

"Well, I'm getting up now. I'll be back in ten minutes to drag you out of bed, I swear." I dressed in a light green day dress that stopped just above my ankles and when I came back through to the bedroom Maxon was no longer there.

"Grab me a tie, would you darling?" He called from his dressing room. I opened his drawer and rifled through his great number of silk ties until I found one that was the same shade of green as my dress with a diagonal white stripe. I walked into his changing room and found him dressed in his suit just waiting for a tie. "Give me a hand?" He asked and I began to carefully tie it in a perfect knot around his neck.

"I know you've been doing this pretty much since you were born and yet you always make me do it." I laughed. It was true, he'd even made me learn how to tie a tie so that I could do it.

When I had finished he slipped his arms around my waist and leaned down to kiss me. His hands slowly moved round so that they were both on my stomach.

"I can't believe there's another Schreave in here. A little baby America." He whispered.

"Or a Maxon." I corrected. "Shalom could have a little brother or sister."

"Or both." Maxon said, kissing me again. "Shalom is going to have more brothers and sisters than he knows what to do with." I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of Shalom, I'm going to go and check on him." Maxon took my hand and we walked through to the nursery where our son was still sleeping soundly. He stirred a little as we walked over to him and opened his big blue eyes. He seemed to smile when he saw us and I picked him up.

Shalom had grown so much since he was born, it was hard to remember the tiny babe when he was born now.

"Your Majesties?" We both looked up from his mesmerising eyes to see Aspen stood at the door. "King Antonio, Queen Isabella, and Princess Nicoletta are ready and waiting in the throne room."

"Ok." I looked back down at my son, kissed him on the forehead and then placed him bac in his cot. "Would you ask Marlee to come watch Shalom while we're in the meeting?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Oh, and Aspen. I've told you several times not to call me that – you've known me since we were children!" I laughed. "It's bad enough when strangers do it."

"See you later, Queen Mer." He grinned and walked out of the room.

The meeting went well. In fact, it was barely a formal meeting and much more of an informal chat with old friends. We laughed, ate and then – finally – ended with the signing of a document by both Maxon and Antonio that signified the beginning of a strong alliance including better trade agreements and a promise to help whenever it is called upon.

After the signing, the family left to head back to Italy and so we said goodbye. A formal handshake from Maxon to both the king and the queen, and a kiss on each cheek from me to Isabella, a curtsey to the king, and a hug to Nicoletta.

The palace seemed much quieter after the loud, fun-loving, Italians had left but it didn't mean that Maxon and I had any less to do. We headed back upstairs to our large study together to begin planning for our own trip to New Asia.

 **Sorry it's a little later than I had planned but at least it's here. I'm doing my best not to disappear like I have before but please review and I'll see you all soon – Chescaannie x**


	44. Chapter 44

I was jolted awake by the plane hitting the tarmac. I looked to my left and saw Maxon looking at me.

"I was going to wake you but you looked so peaceful." He said before kissing my cheek. He took my hand and led me towards the door of the royal plane which opened after a moment. Outside there were a few hundred people on either side of a small walkway, it reminded me of going to the Selection with everyone cheering us on. We walked hand-in-hand and waved at the people who were so welcoming that an outsider would never have guessed that we were technically the enemy – perhaps they were excited for the war to end as well.

We walked along the red carpet that had been laid across the dark tarmac and walked swiftly into the airport where we waited for a moment on the red leather seats before we were informed that the car was ready to take us to the Imperial Palace.

As we drove along in the car, I stared out the window and watched this beautiful country go past, New Asia was very different from Illèa since it was so much older and there were some of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen the closer we got to the palace. Many roofs were adorned with green jade dragons to ward off bad spirits and were surrounded in the gold which seemed to be plentiful. Then we came to the palace itself.

The palace was very different from ours back in Angeles but was just as (if not more) grand. The basics of it seemed to be a large rectangular building on top of a small hill – with about a hundred steps leading up to it – and was covered by a large pagoda-style roof with dragons on each corner. The tiles themselves were black whilst the brick of the palace were bright red. It followed the style of the other buildings we had seen by being covered in gold and having great stone dragons on either side of the staircase at intervals all the way up.

Someone else took our bags but Maxon was still unsure about me walking up so many stairs. I was just beginning to show my pregnancy (although we hadn't told anyone that I was) and he was very worried about the whole thing because of the complications I'd had during my first pregnancy and the fact he hadn't been there for most of Shalom's. However, I managed to convince him not to carry me up the stairs but the compromise was that he could keep his hand on my left hip and his arm around my back so that he could catch me before I even knew I was falling.

"Your servants have received your itinerary for the week, Your Majesties, and the Emperor and Empress of New Asia would like to invite you to the banqueting room tonight at six for a welcome banquet. Your rooms are upstairs on the left in the grand guest suites, however, if either of these are unacceptable then please let us know and we can change them. A cot has been put in the Queen's room for the young prince as per your request – although he is still welcome in the nursery at any time where we have staff who are able to look after him as needed." We nodded along with him but I was fairly sure that both of us were too mentally drained to actually say anything to the man who was taking us to our rooms.

My room was covered in dark half-wall panelling and green wallpaper on the walls and the floor was dark wood but covered with green rugs that matched the sheets on the huge four poster bed in the middle of my room. Much like at the start of the selection, when we got into our suites I simply collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes for a few minutes. Before long Maxon came through carrying our son who was sat up slightly on his elbow and supported with his other arm.

"Hello mummy!" Maxon said as he walked in. I sat up from my rest and looked at my son and his father.

"Come here Shal." I said and Maxon handed him over to me so that I could give him a cuddle that I had been unable to do since we gave him to the nursemaid for the journey on the plane. Maxon sat down next to me on the bed and put an arm around my shoulders embracing the both of us. "You're going to stay in here, right?" I asked Maxon.

"Of course." He replied, kissing me on my ear. "When was the last time we slept apart?" he laughed. It was true, many of the servants back home had actually commented on the fact that we spent a lot more time together than Clarkson and Amberly had – they had actually slept in their separate rooms from the start! We still used our separate rooms, of course, but we always slept in one bed.

A few hours later we separated again to dress for dinner as our clothes were of course in different rooms. Mary, Marlee, and Amy helped put my hair up in a tight bun and dressed me in an equally tight dress. I had been worried about it showing my tiny bump but I managed to convince them to put in a control panel that would hide my bump. I was fairly sure they knew as the only excuse I could think of was: "Because I'm the Queen!" They had worked in silence after that but I could see them smirking whilst they did it. I didn't care, I was _technically_ keeping my promise to Maxon and they would act all giddy and surprised even if I told them as I was literally giving birth to the child.

Maxon collected me from my room and we decided to send Marlee along with the children to the nursery so we wouldn't have to worry about them for the rest of the evening and we could all go to the banquet. Inside the main banquet hall was a long dark wood table with about twenty chairs all around it. Everyone in the room bowed as we entered and we bowed back – in the direction of Emperor Li and his wife Mei. Both were very powerful and imposing looking and certainly intimidated me, although Maxon showed no signs of this. I kind of hoped we could be like this in twenty-odd years when we were their age.

During dinner, I realised that we were not what Li and Mei were expecting because they kept sharing confused looks and whispering in fast Chinese (which I was not a master of and Maxon only spoke a few words). They did speak quite a bit of English and we had several translators to help us with the rest but it was clear that they were trying not to talk to us during this time.

"They have only really dealt with my father – even my mother barely spoke to people like that." Maxon explained later as we got ready for bed. "The only time I've ever spoken to them before was at parties and we never chatted. You must admit we're quite a contrast to my parents!" He laughed.

"Your mother was a wonderful queen." I stated. "Will I ever be as good as her?" Maxon paused. He was clearly thinking of what to say to me next.

"America, you and my mother are totally different. No better or worse. She preferred to sit on the side-lines and help more with the planning and entertaining of foreign dignitaries. She never really had much to do with foreign policy. You, on the other hand, have helped with treaties and policies since before you were even queen! Your philanthropic charity idea was to completely change the way our country is! Yes, we're doing that but you can't say you're anything like mother. But I kind of like that because I don't want a relationship with you like my father did with my mother." He kissed me lightly on the cheek and dragged me to bed to sleep. He had a lot of worries about me and the baby and so had to make sure I got at least eight hours of sleep a night – no matter what.

 **Sorry for my disappearance…yet again. But it has been a hectic few weeks and I haven't even had time to do NaNoWriMo this year** **. There's always next year I suppose. Anyway, I will try to update soon but please review in the meantime! – Chescaannie xx**


	45. Chapter 45

New Asia really was a beautiful country. I had never really considered the idea that it could be anything but a physical representation of the costs of war. It was clear from being here that the war was just fear0mongering that had been used by Clarkson to control the masses. Where was this war happening? The peace talks were very simple and easy (as neither country really wanted the huge costs that come from having a war and both wanted the simplicity of peace) and all there was left to do was for Maxon and Li to sign the official peace treaty to end the war. Although these meetings still seemed long and boring, they were mixed in with outings into the city and the further country.

Beijing itself was a wonderful city although it was very different from Angeles. The smells of food mingled with the dirt and pollution that covered the city, giving the place a very strange palate of smells and sometimes making me feel ill and other times not – although this could also have a lot to do with the pregnancy. It was also apparent that this city was much older than home which seemed to have been almost completely rebuilt since the last war as fashions and styles changed, Beijing, on the other hand, kept its traditional dragon-esque style that adorned most of the buildings that lined the main few streets that they drove through.

Every now and then, however, we would see a child stood on a street corner or a sheet stretched between two houses that was filled with children and adults and we realised that it was no different to home, really; there was still a huge difference between the haves and the have nots. I told myself that we were working towards changing this in Illèa and whilst it seemed to be hidden to royals here, it was only too clear to me and therefore Maxon. When we were walking and saw these people I always gave them some money or food in exchange for a small smile of thanks from them but when we drove past there was nothing I could do for them except hope that someday their king and queen would do something to help them like we were trying to do back home.

But some of the things we saw were truly marvellous. One day we went for a walk along the Great Wall of China that once protected the northern border of China from the Huns, of course, it now goes almost through the middle of the country but it is an impressive feat of engineering, especially since it was built over two thousand years ago.

"Are you sure you can manage?" Maxon asked me under his breath as we walked from the car up to the top of the wall. I nodded and sighed. He had been very overprotective of me on this trip because of my pregnancy but there was no real need for it – I was only two months pregnant and I was completely fine. Nonetheless, he kept his arm firmly around my waist as we walked and I kept my arm around his.

The views from the top were amazing. Although I knew it was false, I felt as if I could see the whole of New Asia, or at least the old country of China, as I saw the mountains and hills to the north that so greatly contrasted my view of the city to the south. From here I could see the whole city. The slum-like communities that surrounded the city seemed so much worse in comparison to the great spires that reached up into the skies from further into the centre. In the very middle sat the palace of New Asia which was covered in the green jade and gold that this area was so famous for.

We didn't walk the full 13000 miles of the wall, of course, and barely walked a mile before we went back to the car for the next stop on our tour of the country which turned out to be back to the palace for yet another extremely formal dinner.

By the end of the week, we had managed to iron out all of the issues with our treaty and peace was officially declared by a handshake between Maxon and Li that was photographed for the newspapers of the world to use for the morning post. It seemed somewhat anti-climactic, so much planning and hoping and wishing for this moment that was a simple handshake and a photo. The best part would be greeting the soldiers as they arrived back in Illèa at the end of next week. Until then we had to make the official announcement on the _Illèa Report_ on Friday (which was only two days away) and Maxon wanted me to get another appointment from Dr Ashlar as soon as we got back to make sure everything was still ok with the baby. I was almost glad, therefore, when we got on the plane on Wednesday night and began the journey home.

We waved goodbye to the country, the royals and the hundreds of people that had come to see us off before collapsing into our seats at the front. We kept Shalom with us this time and he slept peacefully in my arms as I nestled into my husband with my feet on the chair and my head on his shoulder.

"So, in our 18 month reign, we have created peace between two warring countries, negotiated a peace treaty with a country that has wanted nothing to do with us for decades, had a son, and conceived another child. I think we can say that we're doing better than my father who simply started said war as the biggest moment of his career." Maxon laughed.

"That's because you're the best king that this world has ever seen." I yawned, almost falling asleep.

"No, it's because I have the best queen at my side." He kissed me lightly on my forehead just before my world floated back into the dreamland that it was beginning to mirror.

 **Short one this time but we should get a little more next time – I think I'm going to skip forward in time a little if that's ok with you lot. I know this one has been quite fluffy and not much has happened but I swear it will get more interesting so please stick with me! Please review, I love reading them. - Chescaannie xx**


	46. Chapter 46

By the time we got home, I was three and a half months pregnant. Before long I would be beginning to show and there's nothing worse than the tabloids and the rumour mills spreading things that may not even be true, so Maxon and I decided to make an announcement on a very special edition of the _report_ that we wanted to use to focus on the great recent news in New Asia and the new Prince or Princess due in about six months, we also wanted to unveil our plans for the removal of the caste system. There had been a lot of unrest in the country, even if we did manage to stop a lot of it with our wedding – this was all beginning to fade.

So we were in meetings, in discussions, planning, practising…everything had to be perfect. I had proved that the removal of the castes would be a touchy subject which was why we were going to put it on with two subjects that no one could really be angry about and explain the whole proposition.

I was dressed in a beautiful dark blue dress that was relatively loose and matched the tie that Maxon wore with his sharp black suit. He had on a smaller version of his ceremonial crown that was still solid gold and encrusted with several colourful jewels. I wore a diamond filled tiara that was nestled into the crease in my hair just in front of the bun that had been meticulously been put up by my maids. I carried Shalom on my hip as we wanted to show him off as well – especially as we decided that the country hadn't seen him in a little while – and he wore a smaller version of Maxon's suit, only without a crown.

I came down to the recording room with Shalom about five minutes before it was due to start and began to look for Maxon. I soon found him wearing out the floor with his pacing on the far side of the room. I shook my head and sighed, it was just like him to worry, as I walked over to him. Before I could ask, or even greet him, he answered my question.

"This is right, isn't it?" He asked me, looking up and pausing as he awaited my answer.

"Maxon, calm." I held him by the shoulders. "You know that this is the right thing. We've discussed it, we've thought about it so many times and have always come to the same conclusion: the castes are wrong. Limiting what people can have and do is wrong." He nodded.

"I know…I know it's wrong. I know, I do. I just worry. What if there's riots? The twos and some threes won't like it. The lower castes will be happy."

"And we're the majority of the population. We will have the support of all the eights, sevens, sixes, fives, most the fours, some of the threes, and even a few twos. Some will be against it; some people always are. But we if we let that stop us then nothing would ever get done. Now, let's go tell everyone about all the wonderful things that have happened these past few weeks." I took his arm and we walked over to a white cross in the middle of the floor where the podium normally stood. After a moment a red light appeared on the camera telling us that it was filming and all of the fear was flushed away and upstaged by the adrenaline that comes from talking to millions of people across the country.

"Good evening, Illèa. I hope you have all had as good a time as I have recently. Tonight, my wife and I will be telling you all three very important – and exciting – pieces of news.

"We have spent the past week in New Asia with the Emperor and Empress and have finally managed to negotiate a peace treaty with them and will be bringing troops home as soon as possible, with the aim of getting everyone home and with their families. We were very glad to manage this after a long and deadly war which has killed many of our troops and torn apart families. The draft will not be enacted and any troops currently training will have the option to return home or to join our home guard and police forces." He paused for a moment as the few people watching cheered. "Whilst New Asia is still not an ally of our great country, it is no longer its enemy and we are both hoping to work towards friendship in the not-too-distant future.

"The second piece of news comes directly from our family as we are very pleased to announce that we are expecting a second child. After the great joy that our son, Shalom, has brought us in these past months we are very excited to be growing our family once more." There had been a lot of speculation all through the palace but any people who were filming and doing other parts of the back-stage for the show still looked surprised and joyful over the news. After the cheering had died down, Maxon looked back to the camera a little more solemnly.

"Now we are going to move on to something a little more serious. It has been no secret that a lot of you watching are unhappy with the way this country works. Rebels have caused disruption in all corners of it and it has affected everyone in some way. After my Selection two years ago, I feel as if I know the kingdom a little bit better. My wife grew up as a five in a poorer area of Carolina and knew what it was like for the people on the bottom-most rungs of our society. Therefore, I believe it is time to remove these social constructs and become one on the same level.

"Our country used to be a place where anything could happen and I suggest we do this again, that we become a place where you can be successful no matter what number your ancestors were assigned. A place where you can marry whomever you want without having to change careers or give up a live of luxury for one of poverty. A place where we judge you on your skills and talents rather than the number on a piece of paper.

"This is going to be a slow process and I know that there are some out there who may oppose it but I believe that this is what is right for everyone. Work is beginning on housing in all provinces for the eights who will become sevens, who will eventually become casteless and may go and do whatever they wish. To start this, both castes will be employed for the building of these homes and flats for which you can apply at your local province services office. I hope that you will all see this as as good an opportunity as I do to recreate the greatness we once had.

"Now it's Goodnight from us, Illèa as we pray for the new beginnings that tomorrow will bring." Maxon finished and we waved to the camera before the red light turned off and work began as people began taking things to be put away ready for next week. Maxon's hands were still shaking slightly.

"You did great, Maxon." I told him, putting Shalom in his play area in the corner of the set. "I think that people will see this as a wonderful thing. And, let's be honest, you did a better job than I did." I laughed. Maxon said nothing. His gaze was focused elsewhere, a ringing phone on the wall. A maid answered it.

"Your, majesty. They want to speak to you, they say it's urgent." She said quickly, fear in her voice.

Maxon's hand shook as he picked it up from the holder and lifted it to his ear. He said nothing but after a moment he put it down again before saying something to a passing officer who nodded and ran off. He ran over and picked up Shalom and grabbed my hand. He pulled me maybe two steps before the alarm sounded. The horrible shrieking alarm that I had hoped would stay in my nightmares where they belonged.

Now that I knew what we were doing, I helped in getting us down to the royal safe room which we managed in record time, and locked the door behind us as he took our son over to his bed.

"August says they're coming." He said softly, not wanting to upset Shalom who had just calmed a little from the shock of it all. "He told me a week ago that they had set up camp in an area just outside the city and I asked him to watch for any signs of movement from them. I thought they might do something tonight because the Southern rebels are the ones that would be against it and they are. August said they were maybe a mile away when he rang so they could be here by now." He spoke much more calmly than he had just after we finished filming – he always seemed to thrive under this kind of pressure. Neither of us spoke to each other for the next half an hour as we attempted to put our son to sleep but once he was we moved away.

"It's my fault, isn't it?" He asked me as we collapsed onto the bed. I put my arms around his waist and put my head on his chest. He held me there as he put his arm around my shoulder.

"It's not your fault that you wanted to make this country better; it's not your fault that there are some people out there that want to make it worse. The only thing you're guilty of is caring too much and that isn't a bad thing." I told him. He kissed my head.

"I love you, y'know?"

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and just have a great time if I don't post a new chapter this week! – Chescaannie xx**


	47. Chapter 47

**AMERICA'S POV**

"What's going on up there?" Maxon asked checking his watch. "We've been down here for almost twelve hours!" It had been a horrible attack and we had no idea what was going on. Thankfully, we'd had a large dinner before the report so we hadn't needed to break into the rations yet, but another hour and we would.

Every two hours Shalom woke up crying, we tried to soothe him and be as calm as we could but with each passing moment it was getting harder as the tension rose in the room. It was completely different being in here as just two of us and a baby, instead of twenty-something girls, a king and queen, and a prince. It felt wrong somehow; it was too big and sounds echoed all around the room. Where twenty beds had once been was now just a bare wall. The thrones of the King and queen were now ours, as was their bed, and there was a cot by the wall.

Of course, we had been down here since the Selection ended many times. But never had we been here for so long or even with our son. Maxon was getting a little stir-crazy and angry at his lack of being able to do anything or know anything that was happening upstairs. That was one of the worst things about the safe rooms: they were soundproof.

"I know, Maxon. But there's nothing we can do. At least they can't get down here this time." No sooner had I said this did we hear the slight click of footsteps outside the doors. I held my breath and even Maxon stopped pacing for a moment. The person had stopped by the door and Maxon caught my eye. We said "I love you" with our eyes as we wondered if the person was friend or foe.

"Mer? Maxon?" It was Aspen.

"Thank God." I said quickly as I hugged him.

"What's happening? Is it over?" Maxon demanded of him. Aspen nodded.

"We needed to get it cleaned up a bit as some things they left were very…disturbing. It was a horrible attack and we lost a few soldiers but everyone else seemed to get to the safe rooms in time – your friend August is to thank for that – but the damage seems to have been cosmetic for the palace rather than fatal for the troops. Anyway, we have finished our checks now so it's safe for you to return upstairs. In the corner, Shalom was beginning to stir and I was glad we could take him back upstairs so he could return to his usual routine – or else he probably wouldn't sleep for a week!

Aspen led the three of us back through the dark and narrow underground corridors that I had become all too familiar with in the past couple of years and we emerged on the third floor, opposite to our chambers. Aspen said goodbye to us there as he had to re-join the guards around the palace.

"What time is it?" I asked Maxon, I knew it had been about twelve hours since the _report_ but I hadn't really slept due to worry and Maxon's incident pacing and so the world was not quite all together in my brain.

"It's about eight in the morning." Maxon said. "Shall we try and sneak a nap in before our meeting with the council." He winked at me.

"Only if you're talking about sleep only." I warned him.

"Of course, my Queen, that will be perfect."

We dropped Shalom off in the nursery, he was wide-awake and ready to play – I only hoped that the nurse-maid shared his enthusiasm and energy – and Maxon and I went off for a nap.

I woke an hour later as Maxon changed into fresh clothes he hadn't slept in or sat in for hours on end. I sighed, stretched, and stood up too.

"Don't say that I don't have to come – you know you want me there." I told him before he could tell me to go back to sleep.

And he did. He needed me in the meeting where we were having a very serious and animated discussion about how we were going to deal with the removal of the castes. It had taken us a long time to get them to agree to it in the first place and had decided to tell the country before they could change their minds. Now we had to get them to agree on one plan.

"Just remove them all at once and be done with it!" One exclaimed. He removed his glasses and rubbed his temples to show how stressed he was.

"OK. So if we tell everyone in the country they can do anything they want now, no numbers or labels allowed, how many sevens are going to want do the jobs of old twos? And how many twos are going to want to do the jobs of old sevens? Would you go out and clean and tend to the horses in the stable? Would a seven be able to just become a general in the army with no prior training?" I asked him. He was one of the advisors who were dead-set against this in general and wanted it to fail. They only seemed to agree so that I would shut up. "We have one shot at this, ladies and gentlemen, it needs to be so careful that no one can feel us moving the very Earth beneath their feet."

"We predict that the sevens and eights will rejoice at being the same caste – seven – and even the sixes will be glad to have them join. It gets a little complicated after that." Maxon started. We'd had this discussion, practised this speech so many times that I could almost recite it with him. "Whilst we suspect the fives will have no issues with joining with the new sixes on a moral level, there is a very different type of work between these two castes. An artist may struggle with the physical intensity of the work of the _lower_ lower castes but those who have done nothing but this are unlikely to know how to paint, sing, dance, or play a musical instrument."

"After many discussions, therefore," I started "Maxon and I realised that I have not started my philanthropy charity yet. Since my original idea was to dissolve the castes, we have decided to offer community schools that are free for everyone that teach them things like playing instruments. We thought that we could then slowly begin to add management classes as fours begin to join the casteless and teaching courses etc. as we go further up the scale."

"Before you ask where we're going to get the money to build these schools," Maxon continued – like I said we had practised this so much that we were practically one person saying it. "Remember that my mother's philanthropy charity was also based upon education, our hope is to simply extend this for the changing world." I smiled, I was proud of the fact that we were continuing Amberley's legacy in this way, I liked to think she would be proud of us.

"Very well. You both sound like you know what you're talking about and how to do it. I agree." The man from before told us. I nodded in thanks and looked around the room to see the rest of the advisors nodding as well.

Maxon had another couple of issues to discuss with the council about other issues within the country but I had my own work to do and that started with visiting the guards down in their headquarters to see if I could find out anything more about the rebels, what they did, and what they wanted.

There was so much energy flying through the huge room that took up much of the first basement floor as guards and soldiers flew around computers and spoke to different people. I was half way to the general's office before someone noticed who I was.

"Your Majesty." Someone called, and a few around me bowed before returning to work but one man stayed. He had a strange shifty glint in his eyes and couldn't quite look at me.

"Would you like me to take you to the general, your majesty?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, I can manage. I know where I'm going and I can see you're all busy." He nodded, stopped for a moment as if he might force me to accept his help before running off again to finish whatever it was he was doing.

I knocked on the general's door and entered. There was no one else in it and the phone was safely in its cradle – I'd checked through the window before I entered. As soon as I walked in, however, I got my wish. I discovered just what it was that no one would want to tell me about the attack and it was plastered all over the general's walls on screens that he quickly shut down but not soon enough. I'd already seen the photographs of the walls. Of the messages written in blood. _DEATH TO THE QUEEN_

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review whether you loved or hated it (criticism is welcome so that I can improve) and I'll see you all again soon – chescaannie xx**


	48. Chapter 48

**The decision between writing and sleeping is always a hard one for me :/**

Even though it had been whisked from the screen in a flash, I could still see the words at the back of my mind. They wanted me dead. This was my worst fear being realised and, once again, everyone else knew long before me.

"Does Maxon know?" I demanded of the General.

"Your Majesty, um." His eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere except where I stood. It was strange to make a man who was bigger than me (both taller and more muscular) squirm in his seat.

"Does the King know the reasons for the attack?" I said, in a louder voice. I stared down at him and eventually he looked back up at me.

"His advisors are telling him now. We thought it best if you didn't find out like… well like this." I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. I didn't want to lose my temper with a man who was simply doing his job but I had a right to know. I pushed my fingers to my temples and began to massage them, I could feel a headache coming on that I couldn't handle right now.

"I came down here wondering if you had an explanation for the attack. In fact, my husband and I decided that this is what I would do whilst he was in the meeting and then we would exchange notes over lunch. Since I have found out what I needed I shall let you get on with your work." I tried to seem sincere and so I forced a smile, pretty sure it had not worked. I walked out of the office, closing the door with as much calm composure as I could manage before walking across the floor to the main door.. As soon as I opened it I came face to face with Aspen. "Officer Ledger." I called. "With me."

He followed me willingly, although several steps behind as if he didn't want to be caught in my warpath. I think he must have sensed my anger and probably knew why I was upset as he didn't speak at all until we had arrived at the Women's room, at which point he umed and ahed about entering.

"Aspen. You have my permission to come in." I snapped. He walked straight in after that. I slammed the door behind him and folded my arms. He looked around the room and I realised he probably hadn't been in here before but now was not the time for a guided tour.

"You knew." I stated, loudly of course. "You knew and you didn't tell me. I can understand the General who only knows me as the queen and, to be quite honest, barely knows me as that. But we practically grew up together. How could you not tell me?"

"Mer, I was under orders. It was to be kept a secret until Maxon decided what to do about it. It was up to him if he told you or not – we were told to keep out of it." He begged. He seemed slightly scared for his life.

"And when was my husband to be told that the rebels wish to kill his wife?" I probed, I hoped I knew the answer; that it was the same as what the General said and that Maxon had not been keeping secrets, and when could they have told him anyway? I'd been by his side since they attacked and hadn't left until half an hour ago.

"I think he's being told about now. I'm sorry, Mer. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't. I could have been sacked." I looked at his face, his eyes looked sorry and I had never known Aspen to be anything but sincere. I took a calming breath and when I spoke again it was much calmer and quieter.

"It's ok. I'm sorry. I'm just scared. And as both you and Maxon know, I don't handle fear very well." I laughed a little.

"Come here." Aspen hugged me tight and then released me. "I need to get back to work and you need to go find your husband, but I'll come see you both later." He promised. He flashed me one last smile before flying out the door again.

"I think you'd be forgiven if you said you were cheering up the queen!" I grumbled loudly, fully aware of the fact that he could not hear me. Instantly there was a knock at the door.

"Can I have a go?" It was Maxon. The door was still open, although he stood at the threshold, and he looked a little sad himself.

"Sure, come on in." I still found it strange that not even the King could come into this room without my express permission.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder before the door had even closed behind him. I straightened my skirt out a little and placed my hands neatly on top, just like Silvia had taught me.

"Hopefully, what you're about to tell me all about." I looked up at him and he looked away.

"I see. Well the good news is that I was going to tell you. I thought about not but then I knew you would find out some other way and I wanted you to hear it from me. But, there goes that plan." He chuckled a little, more out of nervousness than of any actual humour. "I don't know what to do, America. My gut is telling me to leave; for us to go somewhere else for a while and forget about the removal of the castes - which is likely what they are against. But my brain tells me that that wouldn't stop them from doing whatever they like. And my heart tells me it's the right thing to do. But it also tells me I need to make sure you're safe."

"I am, Maxon. I'm safer here than anywhere else that doesn't have saferooms and guards protecting them." I promised him, one hand on his arm.

"But I would never forgive myself if something happened to you and I wasn't there to stop it. Therefore, my advisors and I have decided that you shall be beside me when it is at all possible. Is that ok?"

"I can think of nothing I'd like more than spending more time with my husband but you have to know that I'm fine, and I will be. I promise." I kissed him lightly. "Now, I'm going to see my son, does my body guard want to come with?" He nodded and rose. It was going to be hard to convince him that this threat will pass but he could have done worse things to protect me than having him beside me, to be honest I was quite looking forward to it all.

 **I know it isn't very long but hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless and hope you have a great new year! Please give me a review and let me know if you want anything different. As suggested on my last chapter I'm going to try and do one from Aspen's POV to let you know what he's been up to. Thanks for reading and I will be back soon! – Chescaannie xx**


	49. Chapter 49

Hey guys!

I think this story is done. I'm out of ideas and I feel like I've been dragging it out for the past few chapters. I'm so happy that you've made it this far and I thoroughly hope you've enjoyed it half as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all of the lovely reviews I've gotten over the past year and a half (I think that's how long I've been writing it but not sure :?). I am writing another fic, The Prince's Choice which is the sequel to this one which is about Shalom's selection when he comes of age.

Thank you again for reading and for your support. I love you all :D!

\- Chescaannie xxxxxx


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